


Gravity

by kawx



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-03-18 05:28:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3557813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kawx/pseuds/kawx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seth Rollins had managed to put his life back together after his boyfriend Roman Reigns was sent to prison. He has a boyfriend, he's at college and he works two good jobs. But now Roman is back. And Roman will do /anything/ to get him back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N & Disclaimer: Firstly, I wanted to say this is a previous fic I worked on for another fandom and decided to transfer my idea over to this fandom. So, any similarities you may think you're seeing, you may have read it elsewhere under another penname for another fandom. (theskyiseverywhere on 1DFF. ha ha...) Anyway! New fic, yes. I love this, and as I'd lost my mojo for my other version, here's this version. Hope you enjoy and please tell me what you think! - georgia. x

Seth swung his legs over the side of the bed as he let his hand feel around for the button of his alarm clock. The sound was loud and shrill and it felt like someone was driving a chainsaw through his skull. He’d been on the night shift for the past few nights at the bar and was scheduled to be on the night shift for the next couple of weeks.

 

He didn’t dislike them, they were a heck of a lot more interesting than those in the afternoon but they were so tiring and he always had to be up for college the next morning. He sighed loudly as the alarm stopped but the pounding in his head continued. His head felt a little better knowing he wasn’t going into College today, but he did have to go to the coffee shop all morning and then the bar in the night.

 

Sometimes Seth regretted taking on two jobs, but he always felt better when he got his pay checks at the end of the month and he found he had much more money than most of his friends and that was without help from his parents. He got up from his bed running a hand through his tangled hair and padded through his flat to the kitchen. He flicked on the kettle and placed a tea bag into his favourite mug.

 

When people asked Seth why he only ever used the mug with the chip in the side and the Winnie the Pooh print on he never told them it was because _he_ won it for him at a fair in Vegas or that the chip was from a heated argument. He’d simply tell them he’s always liked that mug.

 

The steam rose from the kettle as the button clicked, signalling that the water was ready. He poured it into his mug and stirred until the transparent liquid had turned a murky brown. Seth added a small amount of milk and a spoon of sugar before taking a satisfying sip.

 

Willow, his four year old German Shepherd was sat in the corner of the kitchen, looking up at Seth with her wide brown eyes. Seth placed his mug on the counter carefully before walking over to the cupboard and pulling a tin of dog food from the shelf.

 

After feeding Willow, Seth did his usual routine of showering and then calling his boyfriend and his best friend. His boyfriend Randy had made him promise to call him every morning after his flat got broken into about four months ago. He knew why it got broken into, and that it wouldn’t happen again, but Randy didn’t so he did it just to give him piece of mind. He also had to call his best friend Archie just because Archie liked to hear all about what happened at the bar and how many fit guys there were.

 

After a few rings Randy picked up the phone.

 

“Hey babe,” Seth inwardly cringed, he hated being called babe. There was one person who could call him babe, and it wasn’t Randy.

 

“Hey Randy.”

 

“Everything ok this morning?” He asked, just like he did every morning.

 

“Yeah same as always, just wanted to remind you that we have dinner with my dad this evening,” Seth said, sipping the rest of his almost cold tea.

 

“Oh god yeah, what time should I come over?”

 

“I have work at half eight so around six? Dad’s got work too so obviously he won’t be late either. And remember, no mentioning anything about fights at the bar. You know my dad doesn’t like me working there, he doesn’t need reasons why.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll remember this time. Anyway, I gotta go babe, I’ll see you around six?”

 

“Ok, see you then.”

 

“Bye, love you.”

 

“Love you too” Seth whispered as the phone call disconnected. Of course he cared for Randy, but the love just wasn’t there.

 

Seth wiped a hand over his tired face before shoving his mobile phone into the pocket of his black jeans. His work attire for the coffee shop consisted of all black, black trousers, black top and black shoes. In all fairness, Seth hated the colour black. But he did like the way the darkness of the colour accentuated the brightness of the blonde patch in his hair.

 

He grabbed his bag, opened the windows and put the safety locks on and then slipped out of his flat, locking the door behind him. Seth walked through the building waving to the neighbours he liked and ignored those he didn’t. The air outside was warm but also fresh, the sun was beating down upon the Davenport streets making even the old, decrepit buildings look nice.

 

The coffee shop he worked at was a few blocks down the street from where his flat was, so even when it was raining it wasn’t much of a hardship to walk to work. The sun had brought out even the oldest of people onto the streets, and he could tell that he would have his work cut out for him at the shop today.

 

Seth pushed through the back door of the shop and could already hear the busy shop bustling with people ordering smoothies and chilled coffees to enjoy in the warm weather. He hung his bag up on his designated peg, clocked in and then made his way up front. Immediately the heat of the coffee shop hit him, and the sight of all the people queuing for coffee almost took him off his feet. But in true Seth fashion he pulled on his apron and started to serve the customers instantly.

 

Archie, Seth’s best friend, was running around frantically trying to get the orders out as quickly as she could.

 

“Thank fuck you’re here Arch, I don’t know how much longer I’d be able to cope!” Archie said above the noise, shoving a heat protector around a cup and passing it to a customer. As Seth began to get through the customers, the shop began to die down and the coffees and smoothies were ordered less and less. The lunch time rush was beginning to die down to a point where Seth and Archie could have a small conversation between themselves.

 

“So, did anything interesting happen at the bar last night? You didn’t call me this morning!” Archie pushed, resting her elbows on the counter. Seth sighed and leaned his back against the counter so he was facing the opposite way that Archie was.

 

“No, just a usual busy night, and I didn’t call you because I had to ring Randy to tell him I was ok and then I came here straight away.” Seth said, folding his arms across his chest. Seth looked at Archie to see her reaction, but found her with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open. 

 

"Archie are you ok--" 

 

"GET DOWN." Archie hissed, pushing Seth down onto the floor by his shoulders harshly.

 

"What the fuck?" Seth said, trying to get up from the floor, but Archie's grip was too strong.

 

"Just stay down there, don't move!" Archie hissed again, glaring down at Seth. 

 

"Alright Archie? Nice to see you again," As soon as Seth heard that voice, he knew why he was on the floor. That voice, it was him. Deep, accented, and it brought back so many memories. 

 

"Roman, when did you get out?" Archie asked, trying to keep her voice level and strong. 

 

"A few days ago, good behaviour." 

 

"Well that's great, what would you like?" Archie said, faking him a smile. Seth's heart was beating more than double time as the conversation grew longer. 

 

Roman Reigns, Seth couldn't begin to describe what he felt towards him. It was a mixture of pure love and pure hatred. 

 

He'd met him at College, it had been his first day and of course, he'd gotten lost. Roman had been the only person to ask him if he was ok and points him in the right direction. After that, they'd become firm friends. But Seth had quickly learned that there was more to Roman Reigns than just long black hair and tribal tattoos. He had a bad side, one that you'd never want to go get into. But he'd fallen for him anyway, even though his father hated him immensely. 

 

Around the small streets of Davenport Roman was known for drugs, theft and fraud. But even though Seth knew all of this, he couldn't make himself love him any less. 

 

People warned Seth about him before he was with him and people warned Seth about him while he was with him. But Seth couldn't see Roman's bad side; they were so blinded by each other. So in love that all the dealing, all the stealing didn't matter to them. They had each other. 

 

Until Roman dealt to an undercover cop. That was when everything fell apart. Roman got arrested and sent to prison. Everything was ok to start with; Seth visited him and promised him that he'd always love him no matter what he did. But his dad told him otherwise, he wasn't allowed to visit Roman and he was to never speak of him again. He was to move on, erase him from his life. 

 

It took some time, five years to be precise; but that's exactly what he did. Seth stopped visiting Roman and he met someone else. Deep down inside of her, he still loved Roman. More than he's ever loved anyone. But his dad was right, it wasn't good for him and he had to move on. 

 

But now here he is, hiding behind the coffee counter because he's back. 

 

"I'll have two black coffees please," Roman said. Seth had to physically hold himself onto the floor; he wanted to see him so badly. To see how much he'd changed, but he knew he couldn't. 

 

"That'll be three-pounds-fifty please," 

 

Seth heard the money being exchanged before there was a deep rumble of someone clearing their throat. 

 

"Ah, how's Seth?" Seth's heart jumped in his mouth at the mention of his name, the way he said it still sent shivers down his spine. 

 

Archie shuffled awkwardly beside him, obviously not knowing how to answer the question.

 

“He’s, doing good.” Archie sighed, unsure of whether to tell Roman that Seth had a boyfriend even though he and Roman had never officially split up.

 

“He’s moved on hasn’t he?” Roman’s tone was hard and cold and he looked like he wanted to throw his coffee on the floor. Archie looked at him through sad eyes and nodded her head slowly. Roman sighed loudly and waved goodbye to Archie before exciting the shop. Archie tapped Seth on the shoulder that then stood up, shaking slightly.

 

“Well that was awkward.” Archie huffed out, running his hand through his hair. Seth licked his dry lips in an attempt to say something, but he made no sound. Roman Reigns was out of prison and he had no idea what to do.

 

+

 

“So, how’s the studying going kid?” Seth’s dad asked before shovelling a forkful of steaming lasagne into his mouth. Seth swallowed his food as well as the lump in his throat that had been there since this morning before he answered.

 

“It’s going really well, my Professor thinks my writing could get published one day, and he thinks I’ll have finished the course before anyone else,” Seth explained, trying to smile. His dad gave him an impressed look, and Randy gave him a warm smile next to him.

 

The room fell into a comfortable silence as they ate. Seth hadn’t seen his dad and sister for quite a while, so it was nice to be able to see and talk to them, despite the sick feeling in his stomach.

 

“Word on the street is that Roman Reigns is out of prison” Seth’s sister Ivory said, smirking as she swirled her tongue around her fork. Seth’s fathers head shot up, his face contorted with an angry glare at the mention of the name.

 

“Nobody in this household is to go near Roman Reigns, do you two understand me? He doesn’t need an invitation back into our lives and that is that, we do not speak of him again, ok?” Both siblings nodded their heads and continued to eat. But Seth could feel the elephant in the room; he could practically hear Randy screaming out for someone to tell him what importance this ‘Roman Reigns’ was to them. But no one was going to.  

 

**FOUR DAYS LATER**

Seth grabbed another beer for the guy in front of him and racked up a tally in his head of how many he’d already drunk, it was around seven, but who was he to tell him he’d had enough? He was bringing in good money; it was in his interest to keep the drinks flowing. The man gave a grateful nod of his head as he took the pint politely and sipped on the head of froth. It was nearing the end of his shift and it had been one of the busiest all week.

 

“Seth you can get off now, you’ve worked hard for ages and I think I owe it to you to let you off twenty minutes earlier.” Paul, his boss, said coming to stand beside him and taking over cleaning the glass he was working on.

 

“Oh, ok, thanks Paul.” He said, giving him a small wave as he made his way out back. He grabbed his jacket and beanie, putting them on as he made his way out of the bar. When he stepped out into the street, the cold air hit his cheeks instantly causing him to pull his jacket around him tighter and lifting the hood up over his head.

 

“Seth fucking Rollins, long time no see.” Seth froze, his feet nailing themselves to the ground. He turned slowly to where the voice had come from; he could see a figure leaning up against the wall. They were holding a cigarette that was glowing in the dark. Although he couldn’t make out his face, he knew exactly who it was. His voice was like no other, instantly recognizable.

 

“R-Roman?”

 

“That’s right sweet cheeks, I’m back.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback on this, you're all fabulous! So, do you think Roman and Seth will meet again now that Roman's back? Hm.....

Roman watched as Seth staggered backwards, almost tripping over himself before disappearing into the darkness. He didn't bother going after him, he knew it wouldn't make any difference. He lifted the half-smoked cigarette back to his chapped lips and took a long drag, holding the smoke in his mouth for a few moments before letting it spill into the night air.

 

There were so many questions piling up in his brain, ones he knew he'd get answers to, just not tonight. Roman took the last drag from his smoke before throwing it to the ground and crushing it with the tip of his shoe. The air was cold against his cheeks, stinging when a gust of it past him by. He looked up towards the sky, which was painted in a murky colour; he could see the faint outline of the stars and the sight caused a sudden ache inside his chest.

 

Too many things around him reminded him of Seth; everywhere he turned there was something that sparked a film to play in his head – a film in which he was playing the lead role. He’d tried so hard not to remember, to keep the memories at bay, but it didn’t work. They forced themselves upon him.

 

The stars, though, held a particular memory that Roman never wanted to let go of.

 

It had been a warm day in the middle of June and it was one of the rare occasions that they both had some free time on the same day. Roman had suggested they do something together, on their own; no Archie and no Dean. So they got into Roman's old 1978 Ford Fiesta and just drove, the music playing and the windows down. After driving for a while, they came to a small place where they stopped to look around. The place turned out to have a lovely, small Italian restaurant that they both declared to have the best pasta they'd ever eaten.

 

Dinner was followed by a stroll around and then a walk through the park. It was the first night Roman told Seth he loved him. He hadn't meant to say it, even though it was true. He'd been trying to build up the courage to utter the words, but that night sitting under the sky full of stars, looking at him under the moonlight, it sort of just slipped out.

 

Seth had turned to him; his face dimly illuminated by the moon, and told him he loved him too.

 

It had filled him with warmth he'd never experienced before. They'd slept under the stars that night, not returning home until the morning. Dean and Archie had almost been angry, demanding to know why they weren't invited and why the hell they hadn't called to say where they were. They got a bit overly protective sometimes – the four of them were this sort of dysfunctional little family and Seth loved it, really.

 

Roman slipped through the quiet streets with his head down and his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. He didn't want anyone to notice him; he'd promised himself not to slip back into the drugs or anything else for that matter. Even after four years of being locked up, dealers still want you to work.

 

Fortunately, Roman made it back to Dean's apartment without being noticed or recognised. He didn't have a place of his own yet, as he was forced to let go of his old one after being sent to prison.

 

"There you are Roman, was wondering if you were going to come back at all," Dean said from his position on the sofa, legs sprawled all the way across the furniture.

 

"Just wandered around for a bit, familiarised myself with the old place again," Roman explained, leaving out the part about going back to the coffee shop later that day and asking Archie where he could find Seth and going to the bar to see him.

 

"Roman, you've been gone for four years, not ten," Dean sighed, getting up from the sofa and walking into the kitchen. Roman rolled his eyes at Dean before following him and getting a beer from the fridge.

 

"What did Archie say when you saw her earlier?" Dean asked, nosing around in the cupboards for something to eat.

 

"Just asked how long I'd been out and that, she was pretty quiet if I'm honest. Not like Archie at all."

His words were followed by a long swig from his beer and a sideward glance at Dean.

 

"Maybe she was just shocked to see you, and probably sad that she didn't see me."

 

Roman scoffed.

 

"Dean, you left without saying goodbye and didn't call, she was probably sad that she couldn't slap you."

 

"You think she hates me?" Dean asked in a serious tone.

 

Roman turned to him and gave him a sympathetic smile.

 

"I don't think she hates you, but she probably wishes you'd told her you'd be gone for a few years and said goodbye."

 

"Maybe I'll go and see her tomorrow," Dean mumbled to himself, pulling a pack of biscuits from the shelf.

 

"Did she saying anything about Seth?" he added in a quiet voice, not looking at Roman.

 

Roman's limbs froze at the mention of his name, and he had to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat.

"She said he'd moved on," he said, his voice cracking on the last words.

 

"Maybe it's for the best, Roman."

 

"How can it be?"

 

"Because first loves never last forever, he's probably changed so much. It's been four years, such an amount of time does a lot to a person," Dean said, bringing out the wise side that Roman hated because he was always right.

 

"But I still love him, I've still got that feeling inside of me that makes me want to cry, smile and laugh all at the same time. I also promised an old man in prison that I'd never give up on him."

 

Roman placed his half-drunken beer back into the fridge and turned to Dean, whose eyes were focused on him intently.

 

"All I'm saying is, maybe he's happy with this new person. There must have been a reason why he stopped visiting you," he said softly, giving Roman a squeeze on the shoulder before heading off to his room.

 

Roman sighed and rubbed at his tired eyes with the heels of his hands and shrugged off his jumper, throwing it over the arm of the chair. Dean had only got one bedroom, about which he'd apologised profusely for, but Roman didn't care where he slept as long as it wasn't on the streets. A lumpy sofa was better than nothing.

 

xXx

 

"Come on Willow, get up, time for our Sunday morning run."

 

The four-year-old dog huffed before getting up and following Seth out of his apartment. Seth attached the lead to Willow's collar and walked her down the stairs to the front of the building, because apparently dogs weren't allowed in lifts.

 

The morning air was warm against Seth’s skin, perfect weather for running. Seth started in a slow jog, picking up his speed more when he reached the park and the path became wider. Willow ran obediently beside him, pace matching Seth's.

 

Running on a Sunday morning became a thing for the both of them about four months ago, Seth found that running cleared his head and relaxed him. Willow only came along because she didn't like being left alone in the apartment.

 

People often looked at them fondly, appreciating the bond between a young man and his dog. Though getting a dog hadn't been his idea, it had been Roman's. He'd always loved dogs, there was no doubt about that, he just hadn't ever thought about getting one. But after Roman got a knife to the gut, he wanted to make sure that Seth was safe when he wasn't around.

 

So they'd gone down to the animal shelter together to get a dog, they'd been to nearly all of the dogs still not having found the perfect one when they stumbled upon Willow. She was just a puppy back then, but she had some pretty big problems. She had heart worm and a heart murmur, meaning that if she hadn't been treated, she would most likely not have survived.

 

Seth and Roman fell in love with her instantly, and Roman used months and months of saved drugs money to pay for all of her treatment.

 

Steadily, slowly and expensively they got Willow back to full health. No matter how much Roman spent on her, he would always say it was worth it. Because he got piece of mind that when he wasn't there, Seth wasn't alone, and that they had a new addition to their little family. Archie had a large, St Bernard called Benby, and they became firm friends.

 

Seth gently slowed his speed, allowing his body to readjust before stopping completely and flopping down on a nearby bench. Willow sat down by his feet, tongue hanging out of her mouth panting loudly. They sat cooling down for a few minutes before spotting an ice cream can across the road.

 

Seth purchased two bottles of water, one for him and one for Willow. He poured the water straight into the panting digs mouth, smiling fondly as passersby laughed at how quickly Willow was gulping down the cool liquid.

 

The two walked back to the apartment slowly, enjoying the rareness of warm weather. When they got back into the apartment, Willow went straight to her water bowl, lapping at it quickly like she hadn't just drank a whole bottle of water. Seth laughed quietly to himself before checking his mobile, noticing two missed calls from his sister and a text from Archie.

 

_Archie_

_Movie night at mine tonight? :) bring willow! xx_

 

Seth smiled and text back, telling his best friend he'd be over around seven after going to his father’s for lunch. He then turned his attention to calling Ivory back, his sister rarely called him, so it must be something important.

 

"Hey, Seth!" Ivory said in a cheerful voice after picking up immediately.

 

"Hey Ivory, you never call, what's wrong?" Seth said, a little worried by his sisters behaviour.

 

"Guess who I saw today!" she said, completely ignoring the question.

 

"Who?" Seth sighed, knowing exactly what name was going to fall from his sister’s lips, but pretending for Ivory's sake.

 

"Roman!" she squealed.

 

Ivory had had a crush on Roman ever since Seth introduced them. It was a little weird to say the least, having your sister crushing on your boyfriend. It was the reason why he never took Roman to see his family, that and the fact that his dad practically loathed Roman. They were equally balanced really.

 

"Ivory, didn't you listen to what dad said? Neither of us are to go anywhere near him. And earth to Ivory, you are part of that us," Seth said with an authoritative tone in his voice. If Seth was being honest, he didn't care what his dad said, he just didn't want his sister to get involved with Roman.

 

"I know, but what he doesn't know doesn't hurt him right?"

 

"Ivory, are you forgetting that he's my ex boyfriend?"

 

"Seth, you have Randy. You can't have both."

There was a hint of annoyance in Ivory's voice that nibbled at Seth's heart strings.

 

"Just stay away from him, okay, Ivory? It's best we all moved on from him."

 

"Fine, fine. I'll see ya later, bro."

Ivory didn't wait for Seth to answer before she ended the call. Seth let out a frustrated sigh and slammed his mobile phone down onto the work top, causing Willow to look up.

 

Seth looked at the time and noticed that he didn't have time before he had to go to his dad's for Sunday lunch. He headed to the shower to wash away the sweat from this morning’s run and the thoughts of a certain dark haired man running through his head.

 

+

 

"So, are you doing anything nice this week, Seth?" Seth's dad asked as they cleared away from dinner.

 

"I'm at uni for most of the week, working at the bar in the evenings. But I am going to Archie's tonight for a movie night."

 

"You be careful working at that bar, you know I don't like it; full of rowdy drunk men," his dad muttered, filling up the dishwasher.

 

"I'm fine, dad, you know Paul looks after me."

 

His dad shook his head, disagreeing with him but not saying anything else.

 

After clearing away and saying goodbye to his dad and sister, Seth nipped back to his apartment to pick up a bottle of wine and of course, Willow. Movie nights were just as much Willow-and-Benby nights as they were Seth-and-Archie nights.

 

The temperature had dropped considerably since that morning, so he pulled on the biggest jumper he had (it was one that Roman left behind) and pulled his jacket over it too, wrapping his scarf around his neck. Seth put Willow's leash on before checking that all the windows were locked.

 

The sky was just turning from a light blue to an indigo, Seth's favourite time of night. The stars were shining bright and Seth pushed the memories that were threatening to take over him to the back of his head and concentrated on getting to Archie's before he froze to death.

 

He pressed the buzzer to Archie's apartment and waited for her to buzz him up, dogs weren't usually allowed in the building, but it did help that Archie's dad worked for the company that owned the building.

 

Archie's flat was on the first floor and it didn't take Seth and Willow long to reach the front door. From outside Seth could not only hear Archie's voice, but he could hear male voices and it filled him with fear. Seth knocked on the door loudly, hurting his knuckles slightly.

 

The door opened shortly after, revealing Archie who was grinning from ear to ear.

 

"Seth!"

 

Within seconds, Seth was engulfed in a bone crushing hug. But it wasn't from Archie, but Dean. Dean as in Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns' best friend.

 

Seth froze for a second, catching a glimpse of Roman himself over Dean' shoulder.

 

"It's so good to see you again, Seth!" Dean said with a bright smile on his face.

 

Seth smiled weakly.

"Yeah, you too, Dean, been a while. Archie can I talk to you for a second?"

Seth took hold of his friends wrist and dragged her out into the corridor along with Willow a little too forcefully.

 

"What the hell Archie?" Seth hissed, his anger increasing.

 

"What Seth? Dean came and saw me at work today and I've missed him so much, I've missed them both so much, Seth! Remember how we used to be? Our little family, I want that back, whether you and Roman are emotionally involved or not. I know it's hard to see him, even to simply be around him, but you have to get used to it. He's out of prison and you have a boyfriend; if you can't learn to be around each other then how you are going to be around me and Dean? Because I certainly know I'm not losing Dean because you and Roman broke up. Love might not last forever, but friendship sure does, okay? So breathe, say hi and act like you are actually happy to see them both, got it?"

 

Seth knew Archie was right, but there was an aching pain in his chest that told him that the more time he spent around Roman, the more his old feelings would come back.

 

"Okay, I'll try," Seth sighed, following Archie back inside. After closing the door behind him, he undid Willow's lead and watched as she bound towards Roman, jumping up and licking him immediately.

 

"Hey, girl, look at how big you are now."

The way Roman looked at Willow made Seth's heart swell, but he remembered the words he said to him the night before – " _I'm back._ " – and that feeling slowly faded and he suddenly wished he wasn't there.

 

Roman looked up slowly, his hands still curled into Willow's fur. He smiled at Seth before letting Willow bound off towards Benby.

 

"So, what film are we going to watch?" Archie asked, smiling as she sat down on the sofa next to Dean. Seth sat beside them and Roman took the armchair, the two dogs curling up in front of him.

 

"I brought  _Cassadaga?_ " Dean said, holding up the DVD case.

 

"No!" Roman and Seth shouted at the same time, looking at each other straight after.

 

"What? Why not?" Dean frowned, looking between the pair and their pale faces.

 

"Because it's disgusting," Seth supplied, shuddering a little.

 

"The man makes women into dolls and he cuts their vagina's out, I've seen it once and I promised myself never again," Roman said, folding his arms across his chest.

 

He then smiled a little before looking at Seth.

 

“You barely slept for a week, you kept waking up in the middle of the night thinking someone was trying to get in.” Roman laughed.

 

Seth buried his face in his hands, “Don’t remind me.”  

 

"Okay, not  _Cassadaga_ , how about  _Scott Pilgrim vs The World_?"

 

After they had all agreed on a light-hearted film, they settled down to watch, occasionally talking in between .Every so often, Roman looked over at Seth. Letting his chest fill with that warmth every time. He knew it would be difficult, but he was going to get him back even if it killed him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very, very sorry there's been a long wait! I will not bore you with details, but life got in the way. Anyway, I have finished exams now so expect updates! :-) hope you enjoy! x

Seth yawned heavily as he strolled into the college campus; he veered towards the cafe to meet Archie. Though he enjoyed last night’s catch up with Dean and Roman, he seriously needed to talk to Archie about it. 

Didn't she realise that when he said he wasn't going to have anything more to do with Roman, he meant it? He was happy with Randy, he really was. Just because he still loved Roman, it didn't mean he wanted to go back there. Seth pulled open the doors and immediately spotted his friend sitting in their usual booth seat by the window. Before he gets there though, Malorie, a girl Seth knows from his English lectures intercepts him. 

"Is it true, Seth? Is Roman Reigns really back?" Malorie has a glint in her eyes, an excited glint that somehow makes Seth want to sock her in the face. 

"Yes, now if you'll excuse me," Seth said, quickly moving away from the blonde girl and powering towards the booth that Archie was sat in. 

"What the hell? Nobody cared about Roman before he went to prison and now he's back its all anyone can talk about." Seth spits venomously as he sits opposite his auburn haired friend who's smirking. 

"Hello to you to, Seth. And anyway, you know what gossips are like, someone they know coming out of prison? Hot topic. Plus, everyone loves a bad boy, you should know that." Archie said, sipping her coffee and pushing Seth's mango and passion fruit smoothie towards him. 

"Can't they just mind their own business, I'm dreading seeing Randy. If everyone else knows, he does. And you know what he's like. God, he's more trouble than he's worth." 

"Who is?" A cheeky voice asked from beside him, Seth's head shot up so quickly it almost gave him whiplash. Roman. How had he managed to get there without him noticing? Archie has to stifle a laugh. 

"For Pete's sake, have you become like a time traveller or something?" Seth grumbled, taking a long slug from his smoothie. Roman smiled, remembering Seth's quick witted comments, not caring that not they're aimed at him. 

"Nope, just thought that now I've been accepted onto a course on a conditional basis, I'd sit with people I actually want to talk to." Roman motioned towards the other students starring, whispering and pointing at them. 

"Oh great, well, I may as well kiss any normal conversation I was going to have today goodbye." Seth sunk back into the chair, crossing his arms over his chest in an annoyed manor. 

"Or you can just kiss me." 

"Or he can kiss his boyfriend" If the first statement hadn't shocked him enough, the second almost sent him into cardiac arrest. Randy.

"As if I didn't already want to throw my smoothie over someone," Seth mumbled, sitting up and facing the two guys who both looked pissed. 

"Roman, this is Randy, my boyfriend. Randy, this is my, old friend Roman." Seth said, wavering on the old friend part. Roman stood and extended his hand for Randy, who considered it for a second before shaking it. Roman turned to Seth and Archie and said with a nod of his head; 

"I'll see you two later." He walked away from the table, and Randy stared after him with a distasteful look. 

"Who was that?" 

"Did you not hear me? He's Roman, my old friend." 

"Oh, well, as long as that's all he is. Sounded like he wanted something more." Randy said, raising his eyebrow. Archie sensed tension and excused herself, telling Seth she'd see him at lunch. After waiting for Archie to leave, Seth turned to Randy with a serious look on his face. 

"What he said was a joke, and you know it. He'd have said the same thing if Archie had said it, so cool your jealous hormones. I have a lecture to get to, see you later." Seth kissed his cheek and slid from the booth, not actually wanting to sit through any long winded lectures but knowing he had to. 

Seth slumped down the path towards the lecture hall, praying that the day would hurry up so he could start his shift at the bar. If anything calmed him down, it was pulling drinks. He shoved his headphones into his ears and let the sounds of his music soothe him, he took one out upon entering the building, but kept one in, he knew most of the stuff he was being spoken to about, and most of it came up on the presentation anyway so he could just take notes. He really didn't feel like much else anyway. 

Just before the lecture was about to begin, Roman, of all people strode in, taking his place. The seat he always sat in, since the very first day of university. He smiled at Seth, but he dismissed him, deciding that he'd had enough of being nice to him. He can't just come strolling back into his life like nothing had happened, like everything was still the same. Because it wasn't. Years had passed, he and Archie had decided to stay on at university to do another course, he'd met Randy, he was settling down again. As much as he'd missed Roman, and loved him more than he'd ever loved anybody, he just couldn't let him back into his life again, it was too painful. And who was to say he wasn't going to go back to prison? He couldn't go through that again.

The lecturer started talking about their current topic, the values of foreshadowing. Seth knew it already, but took the notes anyway. Throughout, he could feel Roman watching him, though every other girl was practically dry humping him in his seat. He ignored them, keeping his eyes firmly on Seth. 

At the end, Roman jumped out of his seat, in hopes to grab Seth and talk to him like he'd planned, but Jenna grabbed onto his arm, twisting her long dark hair around her finger and batting her eyelashes at him. 

"So Roman, how about we have a drink tonight?" She said in a sickly sweet voice. Over her shoulder, he see's Seth get lost amongst the crowed and then disappear. 

"Erm, tonight? I, sorry, I can't. I have to take my little sister to a concert. I promised her. Some other time though, yeah?" He gave her a slight nod before quickly backing away and nearly sprinting up the stairs. He feels sort of bad for lying, he doesn’t even have a little sister, but still, she believed him. When Roman got outside, Seth was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't see his flash of blonde hair or hear his laughter and he slumped against the wall in defeat. 

Finding out he had a boyfriend crushed him, he had an idea he'd moved on from the conversation he'd had with Archie in the cafe, but he hadn't anticipated 'moved on' meaning a new boyfriend. In his eyes, the only person who could look after him and truly make him happy was him. Yes he'd done some bad things in his life, like the drugs and the petty crime, but he'd also found good. The good, being Seth. He'd never met anyone like him, feisty but warm and sincere, confident but reserved when he wanted to be. He made him feel like he'd never wronged in his life and he wished it was true. 

If getting him back meant proving almost anything to him, then he'd do it, and he made himself promise that he would. 

Because of his sentence, Roman was only allowed to attend one lecture a day, and would only graduate with half a degree. But at least it was something. Roman made his way towards the street where Dean would be waiting. He slipped into Dean' car and slumped into the seat. 

"How was it?" Dean asked, pulling away from the road. 

"He has a boyfriend, Dean." Roman said quietly. 

"Oh."

"You know I really thought he was going to be the guy I spent the rest of my life with. That night I told him I loved him in the field, I thought everything was perfect. But I ruined it, didn't I? I was stupid and foolish and I was greedy. Why did I ever get involved with drugs? Those stupid little things ruined my life and I let them. They took away my whole life. And now I'm paying the price." 

"You can get your life back, Roman. If you really want to make everything better, do it. You wanted to get into college again, and you did. I know you Roman; you can do anything when you set your mind to it. Take control, it’s your life and it's time to set all the bad things right. You want Seth back? Sod his boyfriend, you get him back. Get your life back Roman, take control."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: hi allll! i'm so happy you guys are enjoying this!!! i'm also laughing at how some of you are like "yes goo roman get your boy!!!" and some of you are like "roman's so clingy just cHILL"!!! so, are you team roman or team randy??? *does cheerleader dance* hope you enjoy this!! and please leave more funny comments ily alllllll!! update in a few days!!! <3

Roman stretched his back out and heard it click, sleeping on Dean’s couch wasn’t the comfiest of things, but he had nowhere else to go; and it was nice of Dean to welcome him back into his later after years of being away. What Dean said yesterday really made him think, this was his life right? He could take control of it, and if he wanted Seth back; he’d get him back.   
He walked over to the kitchen and flicked the switch on the kettle. It was about half eight and today he would start looking for a job, he’d meant to start looking after college yesterday but he got distracted looking through old photo’s of Seth, Archie, Dean and himself. He’s unsure of where to start, what establishment is going to take ok a convicted drug dealer? But alas, he’d try his hardest.   
Once he’d given Dean his coffee, Roman spent the morning typing up his CV. It was rather short and lacking substance, but he made sure he put a load of bullshit about being a reformed character who wants to earn his place in society once again. In an hour or two, he’s happy with the finished product; he prints it off and makes a mental note to pop into the library and make a few copies on the photo copier. For the rest of the afternoon Roman scrolled through pages and pages of job vacancies on the internet and found only a few the area. He wrote their names and addresses down so that he could check them out.   
Roman pulled on his shoes and his jacket and left the flat. The sun was out but there was a chill in the air, his favourite type of weather. He went into the library and paid the receptionist for multiple copies of his CV. She looked at him like he was an alien, and it made him feel uncomfortable. He knows why, but he didn’t think it would be this bad. He’d been in prison for drugs, not murder. He’d never seriously hurt anyone, well not physically anyway. With the way Seth had looked at him that night in ally way, he knew he’d hurt him badly with his trip to prison. But truth be told, he was hurt with him having a new boyfriend.   
He put it to the back of his mind and concentrated on the task in hand. Find a job; that was sure to show Seth that he was serious about his life now. He no longer wanted to be part of any drug gang or things alike, he wanted to make something of himself the same way that Seth and his beloved boyfriend were.   
The first stop was a gym in the centre of town, it was a long shot, but worth a try. He decided to make it simple, in, hand them the CV and then out again. He didn’t want to attract too much attention, being back in civilisation is still new and a little weird.   
The rest of the day goes on much the same, until he ends up at a bar with a sign on the door saying ‘extra night staff needed’ in big letters. The bar hadn’t come up on the internet, but Roman went in anyway. 

//  
Seth flopped down onto his sofa and took his shoes off, stretching out his tired legs. He and Archie had been shopping after college, something he only did with Archie on the odd occasion to keep her happy, and now his feet felt like he'd run a marathon. He had a shift at the bar tonight as well; he'd had to take on extra shifts after Saskia had given in her notice so she and her boyfriend could travel the world together. Paul had put a sign up about needing extra staff, but so far; nobody had applied for the job. 

Willow padded over to him and jumped up onto the sofa, licking Seth's hand before snuggling down beside him. Deciding that now was as good time as ever to get some work done; Seth retrieved his English paper from the coffee table and went through it laboriously with a highlighter, making sure there was no spelling mistakes, grammatical errors or any bits of ramble that seriously did not make sense. A couple of All Time Low albums later, Seth threw the dog eared paper back onto the coffee table, he was yet to type it up; but that could be done tomorrow. Right now, he needed a nap. If he was to work all night, he'd need his beauty sleep. 

He and Willow entered the bedroom and Seth discarded his clothes and changed into his sleeping shirt (which was Roman's old football jersey that he didn't like, I.e Seth stole) and set his alarm clock for seven-thirty pm so that he had an half an hour to get ready for work. He slipped into his bed and pulled the coves around his body. 

Just as Seth felt himself slipping into a dream like state, his doorbell rang. He decided instantly that whoever it was could come back later, he was too comfortable. A minute or two passed and the bell didn't ring again. Seth sighed happily and snuggled deeper into his pillow. 

"Seth, What are you doing sleeping?!" Seth's eyes flew open to see Archie stood in the doorway of her bedroom, with a curious Dean Ambrose stood behind her. 

"Seriously Archie, giving you a key was the worst thing I ever did." Seth grumbled, rubbing his tired eyes and glaring at his two friends. 

"What are you even doing here?" 

"Well, when I got back to my apartment Dean called and said he wanted to hang out, I tried calling you but you didn't answer. Then you didn't answer the door, so I came in." Archie smiled cheekily and Dean added a flamboyant wave over her shoulder for good measure. 

"And you didn't think that if you didn't get a reply it was because I was busy?" 

"You're sleeping Seth, that's not being busy!" Dean chimes, already making himself at home and pouring himself some orange juice. 

"Fine, I'm up! But if I fall asleep at work tonight, it's your fault!" Seth grumbled, shoving the covers away from him.

"Seth," Dean said softly,

"Is that Roman's jersey?" Seth looked down at the football jersey and then at Dean. He nodded slowly. 

"Erh, yeah. Now get out while I get changed; jeez privacy." Archie and Dean backed out of the room and Seth shut the door. Seth sighed heavily and pulled the shirt from his body and threw it across the room, Dean was never meant to see that. 

Seth put some different gym shorts on and a t shirt that he loved to wear around the house because it was the comfiest thing he owned (bar Roman’s football jersey.)

“So, did you really want to hang out or did you just come here to pester me?” Seth asked, kicking Dean’s feet out of the way so he could sit down. Dean smirked as he flicked through the English paper Seth had left on the coffee table. 

“Well Seth, pestering you is my main aim in life. No, we’re really here to hang out you nitwit. I haven’t hung out with you guys properly in like, forever!” Dean completely exaggerated the last part, and pouted at the two girls sat beside him. 

“Dean you were a girl in your past life,” Archie sniggered. 

“Rude, Archibald. Why don’t you two tell me what’s been happening while the great Dean Ambrose has been away?” Dean crossed his legs on the sofa and lent his elbows on his knees, and Seth couldn’t help but laugh at how interested Dean looked in their lives. Even though he’d just woken him up from his nap which would result in being extremely tired all through his shift, he sort of knew he needed to talk to Dean about everything. 

“Wait a minute Deano, let me ask you something; where have you been for the past God knows how long?” Archie asked, looking at him with hard eyes. Dean’ face softened and he looked down at his fingers as he picked at them. 

“Y’know I didn’t exactly want to leave you guys behind, I sort of had to. After Roman got locked up, there were some pretty bad people out for his business; and the first place they were going to come looking was me. The first time I visited Roman he told me to leave, not tell anyone where I was going. It was what was best. So I did, I planned on coming back not long after but then my friend had an accident so I stayed to help with looking after him. His girlfriend got so used to having me around and helping her out that I just didn’t leave. Then I got a phone call from Roman saying he was being released, I knew he would need his friends, so I finally made the trip back. It was awful of me not to call, but I thought you hated me for leaving, so I really didn’t want to add fuel to the fire...” 

“Oh Deano, you know we’d never hate you. But seriously if you ever think of leaving without saying goodbye again, I will have to kill you.” Archie squeezed his leg and offered him a reassuring smile. 

“Well enough of my soppy life, Seth?” 

“There’s not really much to tell you, Dean. I stayed on at college and I’m not far away from finishing, I work two jobs and sometimes I really wish I didn’t, Willow and I go out running every Sunday and I still have to go to my dad’s for dinner. Is that enough for your curious mind?” Seth smiled at Dean, who raised his eyebrows in a quizzical manner. 

“You work two jobs? Poor Roman’s having a task just finding one.” 

“He’s trying to find a job?” Archie turned to Dean with a small smile on her face which Dean returned as he nodded. 

“Yeah, said something about trying to make a change. He’s not sure he’ll actually be able to get a job, with his criminal past and all; but he said it was worth a shot.” Dean explained, looking rather proud. 

“Well I think that’s great, let’s hope he actually finds something.” Archie added, glancing at Seth who was looking at his feet, Archie could tell he was smiling too. 

 

//

 

After finally getting Dean and Archie to leave, Seth had only had fifteen minutes to get changed. He quickly pulled his hair into a small bun at the nape of his neck and put on his uniform which consisted of some black skinny jeans and the bars black polo shirt with the logo on the chest. It didn’t matter if he was late, Paul was a very laidback manager; but he didn’t like to be late. He wasn’t, but it was a close call. 

At around half past nine, when he was serving a punter his third pint in the last twenty minutes, Paul tapped him on the shoulder and asked to have a few seconds to speak with him. 

“So, you know we’ve been waiting for someone to take up the offer of Saskia’s place?” Seth nodded and waited for him to continue. 

“Well, someone’s finally offered to fill the position. But, it’s not official. It needs to go under the radar,” Paul explained, looking over his shoulder as if someone was listening in on their conversation. Seth scrunched his face up in confusion. 

“What do you mean?” 

“He’s been in trouble and I shouldn’t be employing him, but he said he was desperate and I really need the staff” As soon as the words tumbled out of his mouth, Seth knew exactly who it was. 

“Are you kidding me? Paul, you do realise who you’ve employed don’t you?” Paul shrugged and threw the towel he was holding onto his shoulder and tapped Seth’s head fondly. 

“He’s in the back, go meet him. You’re going to have to show him the ropes.” Paul went back through to the front of the bar and continued to serve the endless stream of punters at the bar.

Seth balled his hands into fists and composed himself before barging into the back room where Roman was sat pulling on his uniform. 

“Roman, seriously?” Seth frowned at him, leaning against the door. He looked up at him, but he didn’t smirk or laugh like he expected him to, instead he sighed and wiped his hand over his face. 

“Look Seth, I know this is the last thing you want. But I really need this job, right now I haven’t got a thing to my name. Dean brought me a set of clothes when I came out, so even the things on my back aren’t mine. Paul’s the only one that will hire me, so please, just forget about what’s happened and help me earn a few quid. I’ll be gone as soon as I find somewhere else, I promise.” Roman looked so sad and desperate that Seth couldn’t help but feel guilty, even though it wasn’t his fault. Seth swallowed and took a deep breath before standing aside to let Roman through the door. 

“Right ok, but we do as you said; here we’re just colleagues ok?” Roman nodded and bit his lip. 

“Come on then, let’s teach you how to pull pints.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: hi alll. so yeah, i'm now caught up with the already planned chapters for this so hopefully this will start getting better and (a lot less british melle ;-P) you'll enjoy it more! huraah for rolleigns - my first time properly writing rolleigns!! :) so, if you're enjoying drop me a review! your support continues to amaze me! <3

“Dean, remember when you and I told that barman in Ohio that serving beer was easy? Well; we were wrong. There’s actually an art to it.” Roman said as he returned to Dean’s apartment after his first shift at the bar. He’d enjoyed himself though; there was something nice about being on the other side of the bar. And of course, he’d just spent the last couple of hours standing beside Seth, so it couldn’t really get better than that. Dean turned to him with a smile. 

“Who’d have thought it? You get the hang of it then?” Roman nodded and slumped down beside Dean on the sofa. 

“Yeah, Seth’s a good teacher.” He said quietly. Dean looked at him with sad eyes; he hated seeing two of his closest friends hurt like this. This afternoon when he’d saw that Seth still slept in Roman’s shirt, he knew that he still loved him. He wouldn’t tell Roman that though; that would definitely prompt the love sick fool to do something stupid. 

“C’mon Romeo, we better get some sleep; you’ve got college early tomorrow morning.” Roman groaned at the thought of an early start and Dean ruffled his hair before pulling his friend from the sofa. 

2 HOURS EARLIER

Randy’s eyes were firmly planted on the dark haired guy pulling pints at the bar. He couldn’t believe Seth hadn’t told him that Roman had been given a job and he definitely didn’t like the way that he smiled at Seth. Randy was stood right at the back of the bar, in the dark shadows so that he couldn’t be seen by the staff; namely: Seth. 

“What’s he doing here?” He asked his friend John who was stood beside him. John, a tall short haired guy cast his eyes to the bar. His mouth opened and his eyes widened, then, a smirk crept onto his face. 

“Well, if it isn’t Roman Reigns. That’s your boys ex boyfriend; didn’t know he was back in town. If I was you, I wouldn’t want him working with my boyfriend, not with how they used to be.” John smirked and sipped from his drink. If he’d have gotten his beer himself instead of getting Nikki to get it for him, he’d have said a few words to that kid. He should have paid off his debts before going inside. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you knew his ex? And who even is he? Seth’s dad really hates him.” Randy scowled in Roman’s direction, ever since Seth’s dad had mentioned his name and he’d met him briefly at college, he’d been at the back of Randy’s mind. He’d been wondering who he was and why Seth’s dad really didn’t like him. 

“Didn’t think it mattered. He’s well known around these parts, probably one of the most respected dealers for a while. That was until he dealt to an undercover cop, got himself thrown inside. Might wanna keep your eye on him though, there was no denying he loved Seth, he might want to get him back.” The anger rose in Randy and he gripped his beer tightly, making his knuckles turn white. 

“I’ll see you later.” Randy slammed the bottle on the table so hard it could have smashed before he stormed from the bar. John watched him go before continuing to look at both Seth and Roman behind the bar. He pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly dialled a number. It rang out for a few moments before the person on the other end picked up. 

“Yeah?”

“Hunter got some news for you.” 

“Go on then, spit it out kid.” The deep voice on the other end of the line almost growled. John smirked to himself; he knew Hunter’s voice would change when he heard what he had to tell him. 

“Roman Reigns is out.” 

“He’s what? You seen him? It better be true this time.” Hunter was suddenly alert and there were sounds of him moving around. 

“He’s working at Paul’s with Seth, his new boyfriend that I told you about; he’s got ants in his pants just fucking looking at the guy. Figure we can use him as an excuse to get to him and get us out of any bother if Reigns decides to talk.” John explained, watching Roman as he worked, there’s nothing more he’d like to do than wipe that smile clean off of his face. 

“Alright, I’ll meet you at Vince’s tomorrow. Talk to that Randy guy and get him to come along too, just don’t get Seth involved, did that last time. Ain’t’ got nothing against the kid; he didn’t tell the cops when we broke in because of the last guy that said Roman was out.” 

“Don’t worry, it’s definitely him. I’ll find some stuff out and get back to you.” 

“It better be.” Hunter growled before hanging up. John laughed and placed his phone back in his pocket. This was definitely something he was going to enjoy. 

A FEW DAYS LATER

 

“So, when were you going to tell me that you worked with your ex?” Randy said lowly as Seth cleared away their plates. He sighed and started to run the tap. He was silent for a moment before he answered. 

“I didn’t feel like it was important.” Seth said, as he busied himself with scraping the leftover food into the bin and then swilling the plates under the running tap. He’d been waiting for him to ask, he knew he’d found out some way or another, the extra grip on his hand on the way to college the other day gave it all away. 

“Seth, he’s your ex, it’s definitely important. And didn’t your dad say that you should stay away from him?” He got up from his seat at the table and helped Seth load the plates into the dishwasher. He turned to him quickly with a hard look on his face. 

“I can hardly tell Paul who he can and can’t hire. And don’t you even think about telling my father, he has nothing do with what my ex does. He’s got a job, he’s not hurting anyone.” Randy sighed and stopped Seth from doing what he was doing; he linked his fingers into Seth’s and pulled him closer.

“Listen, Seth; I just don’t think being around him that much is going to be good for you, is all.” 

“There’s nothing I can do about it. And besides, we’re too busy to even talk; you don’t need to worry about anything.” Seth said breathily, Randy wasn’t convinced, but he nodded and kissed his forehead anyway. 

The two made idle chit chat for another hour before Randy left to go to work. Seth breathed a sigh of relief. To say the least, he was lying. They did have time to talk at work, and the more he spoke to Roman, the more he found that comfortable feeling he always got with him coming back. When he knew that Randy had made it down stairs and to his car, Seth found his phone and called Archie. 

“Hey Sethie,” Archie said happily, Seth could hear music playing in the background and plates clinking. 

“Are you busy Arch?” Seth asked, he really needed to talk to her about everything, he thought he’d be able to cope with working with Roman, but after just a few hours; he knew differently. 

“I’m never busy for you Seth and you know that, what’s up love?” The music went off in the background.

“It’s Roman; do you think you can come over?” 

“Of course I can, I’ll bring Benby, ice cream and beer, see you in a few!” Archie hung up and Seth smiled as he placed his phone back onto the table. Archie had always been like that, ready to drop anything when she was needed; and Seth would always do the same for her. 

While waiting for Archie, Seth busied himself with tidying up the apartment. Willow was asleep near the window, so he washed up her food and water bowl. He pulled the extra food and water dishes from the cupboard so that Benby had something to eat and drink out of when Archie arrived and filled them both up and put them beside Willow’s. 

Out of all people, Archie would definitely know what to do when it came to Roman. Archie had never been a massive fan of Randy, she always said that he was pretentious and possessive, but she dealt with him for Seth’s sake. 

Archie let herself in twenty minutes later and quickly set about grabbing two spoons and setting the beer on the table. 

“So come on then, what’s he done?” Archie asked once they’d sat themselves on Seth’s sofa. She scooped a spoon of ice cream out of the tub before passing it to Seth. 

“He hasn’t done anything, he’s just Roman. That’s the problem, I thought him being in prison and all might change him, you know, like he might actually turn into a bit of an asshole and I’d have a reason to be glad to have moved on, but he hasn’t. All throughout work he’s the same Roman he was before he left, that’s the problem. He’s the same Roman that I fell in love with, it feels like those first few days we started talking when we met and I can feel myself becoming comfortable around him again.” Angry at himself for feeling that way, Seth forcefully shoved a spoon of ice cream into his mouth. 

“Oh Seth, there’s nothing wrong with being comfortable around him. He’s Roman, he’s so easy to get on with and you know that. You’ve got Randy and you love him, right?” 

“Don’t even get me started on him,” Seth sighed. “He found out somehow; naturally he hates it. But you know as much as Randy is a great guy, he’s never been Roman. I’ve never felt so strongly towards anyone like I did with Roman, despite everything that he did; I’ve never felt safer with anyone else. And that’s what scares me so much. The first night I saw him he said that he was back for me, but I can’t go back Arch. Not now, not with everything. But I don’t think I’ll ever move on.” Archie moved closer to her best friend and put her arms around him. 

“I’ll tell you what I think; I think that there aren’t two people more suited for each other than you and Roman, Seth. But sometimes, the things you love you just have to let them go. Things will work themselves out in the end, they always have.” 

 

NEXT DAY

 

Roman grabbed a bottle of beer and set it down on the bar for Dean with a smile on his face. 

“Well Roman, you’re definitely a better barman than that guy in Ohio.” Dean winked as he sipped his beer. Roman laughed and leaned on the counter, it was a Saturday lunch time and the bar wasn’t at all busy, he’d taken on a few extra shifts so that he could pocket some cash quickly and pay Dean some rent even though he said he didn’t want it. 

“You can take your break if you want Roman, Seth will be here in a minute.” Paul said, squeezing Roman’s shoulder and smiling at him. Roman looked at Paul in confusion. 

“Seth doesn’t normally work Saturdays?” He said. 

“I know, but he needed the extra money apparently.” Paul replied with a shrug. Before Roman could say anything else, Seth appeared from the back room. 

“Hey guys,” he said with a smile. Roman smiled too, because there was nothing better than seeing Seth smile. 

“You don’t usually work Saturday’s, what’s the deal, can’t get enough of me?” Roman winked and Seth laughed before his face fell a little. 

“No, I need the money. Willow cut her foot the other day when we went out for a walk but it’s pretty bad, so I took her to the vets and it’s quite a hefty price to get it stitched up; just thought I’d do a few extra shifts so I’m not down a few hundred before I pay the rent.” Seth explained. 

“Is she okay, Willow I mean?” 

“Yeah she’s okay, they’re keeping her in tonight so she doesn’t get her foot infected.”

“Good, I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her. She’s gotten so big, I can hardly believe it’s been four years since you guys got her.” Dean said, taking another sip from his beer. 

“Anyway, you and Archie should come to ours tonight. We’ll have another movie night or something, and don’t worry we won’t watch Cassadaga, seeing as you two are so scared of it.” Seth shivered at the mention of the film but smiled when the funny feeling had disappeared. 

“Sure Dean, I’ll ring Archie in a bit. But we’re definitely not watching one of those movies with the half naked girls in.” Roman smiled to himself, it might not be perfect, seeing as Seth still had his dumbass boyfriend, but his family were finally putting things back together, and he liked it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: eyyyy! chapter 6! a little bit of a long wait.. (sorry melle..........;)) but here it is and.. DRUM ROLL.... DRAMAMAMAMAMAM. :D please comment/kudos/favourite/review!!! it really makes my day and i wanna know whether you're Team Roman or Team Randy??? also, go check out my new rolleigns fic, Rejects! - georgia xx

John Cena pulls his car into the vacated parking lot of an old warehouse opposite Vince’s bar. Sitting in the passenger seat of his truck is his newest recruit, Randy. He hadn’t known him that long; they’d been introduced by a friend of a friend. They had common interests; football, alcohol, things of the like. They saw each other a few nights a week at Paul’s bar, but other than that they didn’t have all that much to do with each other.

 

Randy became a recruit the moment he found out that he was Seth’s boyfriend, thus becoming important when he consequently found out that Roman Reigns got out of prison. Which is why tonight, they’re at Vince’s. Hunter’s inside waiting for them, ready and waiting to give orders on what they should do about Reigns.

 

Roman owes them a lot of money and has for the last few years while he was away. Hunter has been quiet about the money for a while; he hasn’t even mentioned it for a good year. John thought he’d forgotten about it, or just didn’t care enough to get it back. Turns out, Hunter was waiting for the right moment and the right person to get it back for him. Randy seems to be that person, he’s got ants in his pants due to Roman being Seth’s ex boyfriend and that makes him much more easily manipulated into doing Hunter’s dirty work.

 

The two of them step out of the car into the warm evening air and silently make their way over to the bar. It’s busy for a Thursday night, but then again, Vince’s is always busy. For some unknown reason, the crooks of the city use Vince’s bar in the week, sheltering themselves from the police before hitting up Paul’s bar on the weekends. Personally, John prefers Paul’s, but seeing as Hunter is Vince’s son in law, business is always conducted in the backroom of Vince’s.

 

Upon entering, John spots his latest girlfriend Nikki in the middle of the bar with her friends. He grins and winks at her before ushering Randy through the main area and into the staff only area. The staff don’t bother them, they know who John is, they’ve long sine stopped telling John he’s in an unauthorised area.

 

As usual, Hunter is sat behind Vince’s desk, checking numbers on the computer. The smartly dressed man looks up at them and he beams brightly. John resists the urge to laugh; he knows Hunter’s bright and happy attitude is all an act for the new guy Randy. He’s known Hunter long enough to have a slight idea of what the older man is planning to use Randy for. He’ll be the fall guy, the guy that ultimately takes the heat for whatever his boss has planned for Roman Reigns.

 

“Boys, nice to see you, take a seat, please.” Although Hunter’s tone is light and friendly, he can sense that Randy is anxious, suspicious almost of Hunter; maybe the kids smarter than he first thought. But still, he knows he’s gunning for a chance to give Reigns a piece of his mind and keep him away from his boy, so he’ll most likely let his emotions get the better of him and do whatever Hunter asks him to do.

 

“So, a little birdie told me that Roman Reigns is out of prison, is this true?” Both Randy and John nod in unison and Hunter smiles darkly at them.

 

“And there have been actual sightings? I really don’t want a repeat of last time.” John fishes out his mobile and pulls up a photo that Nikki had taken for him upon his request. It clearly showed Roman working alongside Seth at Paul’s.

 

Hunter hums approvingly, “Good. Well, as you know John, Roman owes us a lot of money. Randy, to give you the short story, Roman had been working with us for a while before he got sent to prison. He was dealing our stuff in order for a cut of the profits. The business relationship was going well, until the money we received from the sales was short on numerous occasions. We cut business ties and intended to get the stolen money back from him. Then, he went into prison. Now, we won’t our money back once and for all, and the two of you are going to get that back.” The two nod in understanding, prompting Hunter to continue.

 

“We don’t want the guy getting scared and running off, so we’ve got to go about this in the right way. Randy, that’s where you come in, the guy has no idea you’re one of us so how about you rough him up just a little bit before we target him directly. Just shake him up enough to have him on edge, but not scared out of his wits. Think you can do that?” John looks at Randy from the corner of his eye, and can see the guy’s jealously bubbling up beneath his tattooed skin. Randy sets him mouth in a hard line.

 

“Yeah,” He says gruffly, nodding his head for good measure, “I can do that.” Hunter beams gratefully and John suppresses a laugh, sometimes Hunter is so fake.

 

“Good, well, I think that’s it for now. We’ll talk soon about what’s in store for Reigns, go and enjoy your night boys.” The two get up, John not at all shocked at the length of his talk, though Randy’s face tells him that he is.

 

“Oh John, hold fire I’ve got something for you.” Randy silently nods to John, heading out the door without being asked to leave them alone for a moment. John looks to Hunter, whose whole demeanour has changed within a matter of seconds.

 

“We can trust him?”

 

John shrugs, “I’d say so. He’s hot headed and out for Roman’s blood seeing as he’s seemingly only back in town because of Seth. He’ll do whatever you want as long as it gets the son of a bitch away from his boy, then when all the evidence is stacked against him if Reigns goes to the police; none of our boys get sent down.”

 

Hunter nods in understanding and pats John on the back. “Good work John, just keep him in check, don’t let him do anything too stupid before we get our money back, alright?” John nods, sliding out of Hunter’s grip and heading towards the door. With a final nod to Hunter, John steps out of the office and back into the bar. Randy is standing talking to the barman, Dolph, so John heads over to them.

 

“Gonna’ shoot off, meeting Seth at Paul’s, talk to you later alright?” John nods, smiling at him and ordering himself a drink. He watches as Randy slinks his way through the crowd and out of the door. He does feel bad for the guy, he has no idea what he’s getting himself into, not idea what sort of trouble he could land himself in if he’s not careful. But, he wants revenge on Roman Reigns just as much as Hunter does, so why should he care who he hurts in the process as long as it’s not himself? The only person he promised not to hurt was Seth, and he gets that because the guy wasn’t grass and had saved Jamie and Joey’s ass when they broke in. But he has no qualms about hurting anyone else in order to get his money back.

 

John takes a sip of his beer, eyes scanning the crowd of people. They land on Nikki and he grins as their eyes meet. He takes another sip and starts to head over to her, time for some fun.

 

 

xXx

 

 

“No, no, no, Roman we agreed that story would not be told ever again.” Seth whines and Roman can’t help but grin at his little pouty face, oh God how he’s missed that.

 

Roman holds up his hands in mock defence, “Alright princess, I’m sorry.” Seth glares at him, but there’s no heat in it.

 

He makes a cross over his heart and says, “I cross my heart I won’t do it again.” The smallest of smiles creeps onto Seth’s face as he sticks his tongue and heads down into the basement to get more beers.

 

Dean’s sitting at the bar (again) and there’s a great big smile on his face, Roman can’t help but grin back at him.

 

“You two seem to be getting along like old times.” Dean says, tipping his beer bottle back against his lips.

 

Roman looks back to where Seth had descended the stairs only moment ago, “Yeah we are. I just know that he’s still holding himself back, won’t come to close or even touch me. I wanna’ get back to that, y’know?”

 

Dean nods, “I understand, but it’ll come, don’t worry. Seth’s gotta’ learn to trust you again. Remember you told him nothing would ever happen to you? Look what happened, he needs to learn to let you back in and that’s going to take time. You’ve just got to be patient and keep on being Roman; he’ll let you back in eventually.”

 

“You’re right.”

 

Dean smirks, “Always am.” Roman scoffs and shoves him, wiping down the counter. It’s not very busy for a Thursday night, though Roman’s come to find that it never is on a weekday. He likes it like that, though. He loves the time he gets to spend with Seth when there are only a few people around. He loves having Dean sit at the bar all night, alternating between a beer and water. He loves watching Seth talk to the regulars and charm them into drinking even more beer than they normally do. And he especially loves it when Archie comes bursting in and the four of them are like a family again.

 

Seth comes back up from the basement a moment later, and Roman quickly scurries over to help him with the crate. Seth tells him to stop fussing and that he can do it himself, but Roman doesn’t miss the little blush that creeps onto Seth’s cheeks when their hands touch slightly.

 

Dean leaves after another beer and lets them both finish their shifts in peace. The bar gets a little busier, but not busy enough for them to be rushed off their feet. Roman gets to catch a glimpse of his Seth for brief periods before Seth shrinks back in on himself. But Roman takes those moments as small wins, because it means that Seth is slowly and surely becoming more comfortable around him.

 

Roman finishes his shift at midnight and offers to walk Seth home (he may not have been here to look after Seth for the past few years, but that didn’t mean he was going to stop now) but Seth (rather awkwardly) tells him that Randy is coming to pick him up. He’s not entirely happy letting Seth go home with him, but it is his boyfriend and he can’t really do much about it.

 

He grabs his jacket and shucks it on as he’s heading out the door. There’s a cool breeze outside which has him pulling his jacket around him tighter and his hands digging into the pockets. He feels around for his cigarettes and his lighter before unwillingly pulling his hands out back into the cold air.

 

Seth always hated him smoking, and he’d mostly quit before he went into prison. But, being on the inside meant a lot of spare time and lots of restless energy. Plus, Freddie, one of his only friends on the inside could get his hands on them all the time, so he picked the habit back up.

 

He fumbles with the lighter, the stupid flint going out every time he runs his finger down. He tries one more time, and ends up dropping it onto the floor. Roman sighs loudly before dropping down onto his knees (and cringing when they crack loudly). Just as his fingers clasp around the cold, blue plastic, there’s something very hard and rough smashing into the side of his head. The pain surges through it, can feel his brain rattling around inside of his skull.

 

Roman has no time to react before the boot that kicked him in the head begins to stamp repeatedly on his head and his face, he tries to protect himself using his arms, but the kicks are much too quick. Finally, whoever it is stops the attack, grabbing onto his collar and pulling him slightly off the ground.

 

Roman forces his eyes open, even though it physically pains him to do so, they’re almost swollen shut, and the face that he makes out in the dark makes his blood run cold.

 

“You made a big mistake coming back to this town, buddy.” He throws Roman back to the ground and scurries in the direction of the bar. Roman sits up, putting a hand to the back of his and feeling for any cuts or gashes. He touches his face, which is definitely covered in blood and stares after the vanished attacker. Looking at his hand when he pulls it away from his face is like something from a horror show.

 

Roman growls, “Bad move Orton.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: look who's updating quicker??? (because i can't leave melle hanging.. and here's some rolleigns for you... :P) this is a little bit of a filler for bigger things to come (DUN DUN DUN) thank you for the lovely comments/kudos/reviews and stuff, it reaaally makes me happy so please continue your support! :D you can find me at my tumblr psychrollins if you have any messages for me! (also, slight self harm warning, though its very very very minor.)

_Roman plays with a loose piece of cotton from his grey, prison issue t-shirt while staring at the underside of his cell mate Freddie’s bunk. The one thing he’d not anticipated about prison was the boredom. Sure, he’d_ expected _a little boredom, but nothing a little reading couldn’t fix. But this boredom, it’s soul destroying, it leaves you with endless amounts of time to think about all the bad things you’ve done in your life, and reminding you that there’s nothing you can do about it while you’re locked up._

_Except, he_ has _tried to fix the bad, but Dean’s the only one who accepts his apology. He’s tried so hard to reach out to his family, to tell them that he wasn’t trying to be a bad person it all just sort of happened and he is now indeed, paying the ultimate price. He didn’t expect his parents to be forthcoming, that’s for sure, but he didn’t expect Seth to be like this._

_Seth,_ his _Seth that always told him that no matter what happened to them they would always be together, but where is he now? He’d come to see him on one of his first visitations, telling him that he loved him more than anything and that they would get through this together. He hasn’t heard from his boyfriend since, and now all he has is the old, tattered picture that’s tucked safely above into the side of his bunk._

_Roman knows that he hurt Seth by getting caught, but it’s not like he’d meant it. In fact, it was going to be his last deal, then all of it was going to be over and he and Seth were going to live happily ever after._

_But how stupid was he to deal to that undercover cop? He knew that someone wouldn’t pay that much for how much he had, but his dream and his vision had clouded his mind and he’d just gone for it. Looking back now, he should have known._

_He sighs, turning over in his bunk to see a guard slowly making his way towards his cell._

_“Open on forty,” Roman sits up as the cell door opens slowly, the guard standing outside until it’s fully open._

_“Some mail for you Reigns.” He says, holding out the already opened envelope. The guard, Officer Ziggler, is one he’s come to like. The man smiles at him in sympathy, “Stay strong kid.” Roman frowns at him at he takes the envelope from Ziggler’s hands, waiting for the man to leave before looking down at it._

_Seth. It’s his neat handwriting on the front; Roman’s hands shake as he turns it over between his fingers. The envelope is light, lighter than the letter he received from Dean last week and it makes his insides swirl. Roman pulls out the single sheet of paper, a photo of him and Seth folded in between._

_There are six words on the piece of paper, all written in Seth’s familiar cursive. “_ I’m sorry too. Love always, Seth.” _There’s no goodbye written, no long heartfelt speech about how Seth’s not sure he’d be able to handle a relationship that involves Roman being in prison. It doesn’t look like a goodbye, but Roman knows that it is. He just_ knows. _This doesn’t sound like Seth is telling him he’ll write more soon, or that he’ll come and see him. This is Seth saying goodbye in the nicest way possible._

_Roman scrunches the paper between his fist violently, throwing the envelope to the ground. He lets out an almighty growl, fist flying out and colliding with the wall. Pain shoots through him, but it does nothing to dull the pain inside of his chest._

_Of_ course _Seth is saying goodbye, isn’t that for the best? Seth deserves better than some low life, drug dealing scum that he is. It’s goodbye but he so desperately doesn’t want to believe it._

_But it is. Because Seth doesn’t write again, nor does he visit. Five years pass and finally Roman is released on due to good behaviour. The only things on his mind when he walks out of those gates, is Dean and Seth._

Roman quietly closes the door to Dean’s apartment as not to wake his best friend and shrugs his jacket off, even though it makes a pain shoot through his neck and shoulders. Fucking Randy Orton, what’d he ever do to him? Oh yeah, that’s right, he’s still pathetically in love with his ex who just happens to be Orton’s current boyfriend. But still, it’s not like he’s done anything to purposely annoy the guy, if he’s honest, he’s been making a point of staying away from the guy. But still, seems like he’s the type to be over protective and jealous, but whatever.

 

He flicks the lights on and moves towards the mirror to get a better look at his face.

 

Well, it could be worse, but he’s certainly seen himself in better shape. His left eyebrow is cut open, an old injury from prison re opening, his lips cut up in all sorts of different ways and his nose is already turning a funny colour and is sat at an odd angle, most likely broken.

 

Great, he was just getting himself back on track, and now he looks like he’s been dealing again and got caught up in some mess. He cleans himself up, and admittedly he does look better when all the dried blood has been washed away, but he’d rather not look like this at all, especially in front of Seth. How’s he even going to explain this? He can’t very well tell Seth that his boyfriend purposely cornered him on his way home and gave him a piece of his mind, because Seth is a worrier and he does not want to put that on Seth’s shoulders, not when this is clearly between him and Randy.

 

Roman sighs, probably a little loudly but he doesn’t hear Dean move or stir from his bedroom so he flicks the lights out, plunging the room into darkness once again. He lays himself down on the couch, ignoring the pain in his neck and thinks about what Randy said. Maybe it was a bad idea to come back here, when he had no clue whether Seth would still be around and waiting for him, but now he knows that he’s still here, he can’t leave, just can’t.

 

 

**xXx**

_“Lemme’ sleep.” Roman mumbles, swatting Seth’s hand away which was poking him in the cheek. Seth laughs, dodging Roman’s large, swatting hand and climbs on top of him._

_“Nope, c’mon sleepyhead you gotta get up, it’s road trip day!” Seth singsongs, gripping onto Roman’s biceps. His boyfriend doesn’t for a moment, beautiful eyes slowly fluttering open. Seth grins down at him, proud of himself for rousing Roman from his deep sleep. But Roman isn’t smiling, and Seth knows that he should probably move or—_

_Too late. Roman quickly flips them over, his large frame dominating over Seth’s small one. Seth didn’t think this through properly..._

_Roman’s grinning now, his large hands placed either side of Seth’s head on the pillows. “Now why you gotta’ be wakin’ me up so early baby boy?” Roman’s gravelly, sleepy voice sends shivers through Seth’s body and it takes him a second to comprehend that Roman just spoke to him._

_“Because its road trip day and we’re meeting Dean and Archie at nine.” Seth says quietly, reaching up and pressing a quick kiss to his boyfriends lips to make up for waking him up (even though he knows Roman’s not really mad at him, but Roman likes to pretend that he is so that Seth will get flustered and kiss him a lot.)_

_Roman hums, leaning down and pressing his lips to Seth’s neck. Seth shivers at the touch, Roman’s soft lips feeling like heaven against him. He swallows, biting back a moan when Roman gently nips at his most sensitive spot._

_“What time is it?” Roman asks, his lips ghosting against his skin._

_“Six thirty.” Roman suddenly pulls up and Seth releases a whine at the loss of contact. Okay, so Roman’s probably a little bit mad at him now, because it probably is a little bit early but he was awake and he_ hates _being awake when Roman is asleep, it’s so boring._

_“You woke me up at this time when I could have had at least another forty minutes?”_

_Seth shrugs, slinking his arms around his boyfriends neck. “We have stuff to do.” He reasons, fingers playing with some of the hairs that have fallen out of Roman’s bun while sleeping._

_Roman growls softly, one hand moving from its position next to Seth’s head to cup his cheek, his thumb stroking over his lips. “I can think of better stuff to do.” He says slowly, pressing their lips together and letting his hands wonder all over Seth’s body. Seth’s body feels like it’s on fire, Roman’s hands sizzling over his skin as he kisses him so slowly it’s like everything is in slow motion._

_Roman suddenly ends the kiss, leaving Seth wanting more and desperately trying to pull his boyfriend back down, but Roman just grins._

_“And it’s called sleeping.” Roman rolls back over onto his side of the bed, pulling the covers up over him and seemingly trying to sleep again. Oh no. Roman is not pulling that shit on him, no way is he going to touch him and kiss him like that just to go back to_ sleep. _If Roman wants to play games, then Seth can play them too._

_He pulls the covers away, receiving a loud sigh that has Seth’s name lased in there somewhere. He straddles Roman once again, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking at the man below him._

_“You know, I wasn’t going to wake you up really early and not reward you for your valiant effort. But you know, if you wanna’ sleep in I suppose I’ll just go shower by myself and cook myself some waffles, I’ll wake you up later Rome. Sleep tight!”_

_Seth’s not even halfway towards the bathroom when a pair of strong arms lifts him up and over broad shoulders. His boyfriend really is a dork, but he loves him more than anything._

Seth wakes with a start, body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Damn it, he was just getting to the good bit. As soon as he thinks it, he feels guilty. Because it is not Roman sleeping next to him, but Randy.

 

It’s been happening more frequently, the vivid replaying of old memories transpiring in his dreams at night. He had them every so often, but since Roman had actually come back, it was coming to the point where he would dream about Roman nearly every night.

 

Seth runs a hand over his face, his eyes heavy with fatigue. He’s more than glad that Roman is out of prison, and more than glad that he’s back here again, but it’s doing things to him that he didn’t expect it would. Seth takes a glance at Randy’s sleeping body next to him and sighs, Randy is a good man and all, but when it comes to someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with, he’s not _Roman._ And he shouldn’t be saying that, because he’s long since told himself that he’s moved on from Roman, he moved on the moment he sent his last letter to him in prison.

 

No matter how much he still loves Roman, he just, he can’t go back there, no matter how much he wants too. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: sooo, this shouldn't have been updated yet because i should have updated tiger and dragon and my vamp fic but i've been busy and summer is coming soon so i have all the time to update this but i can't leave melle waiting too long bc she my girl. anyway i'm not sure i'm super thrilled with this chapter but i've basically re-written it like 4,000 times so i'm just gonna leave it at this. seth has some epiphanys and probz thinks that he's sherlock holmes now, LOL. anyway, please review/comment/favourite/kudos/ETC because i wanna know that you guys are enjoying this and whether you're Team Roman or Team Randy!!! (and for all those saying that Dean and Roman should totes get together in this, even though that would be so much easier for my babies, it just can't happen because they're both in love with different people!!!) hope you enjoy and don't forget to hit me up at my tumblr, psychrollins!! - georgia xx.

Seth wakes up to the space next to him cold and vacant, save for a small note scribbled on the back of an old receipt. Randy’s gone to work and Seth is sort of grateful for the fact that he didn’t wake him up. The dream he had last night makes him feel guilty whenever he thinks about it, because he shouldn’t be dreaming of such things when he has a boyfriend that _loves_ him. He also feels guilty about the fact that he welcomes the dreams, relishing in the wonderful memories he and Roman made during their three year relationship.

 

Seth pushes himself out of bed and heads towards the kitchen to make him a coffee. There’s a dirty mug left on the side making Seth sigh loudly, Randy couldn’t even be bothered to wash up a single mug? It annoys him more than it should.

 

Willow perks up at the sound of Seth’s footsteps in the kitchen, rousing from her bed to sit near his feet while he prepares her breakfast. She nuzzles against his leg until he leans down and scratches behind her ears. Putting her food and water down makes Seth think about all the time that he and Roman would feed her together in the morning before cooking their own breakfast. They'd sit at the small kitchen table while talking about college and anything else that was ever on their minds, it was the sort of thing that Seth had looked forward to once he'd moved out of his father’s house. He'd never wanted to be the type of person to live with family until they were god knows what age, but then he also didn't want to live completely alone, so it was always nice having Roman around most of the time as well as Dean and Archie.

 

When Roman went to prison, he had a lot of trouble sleeping. It wasn't just the absence of Roman's big, warm body, it was the knowledge that Roman wasn't going to be there for many, many days to come. It made him feel suffocated by the loneliness, he had Archie and she was wonderful at keeping him company when he felt like everything was too much to bear, but he couldn't expect her to be with him every single second of the day. He was a grown man; he had to deal with it himself.

 

It all became too much when his apartment got broken into a couple of months after he sent Roman his last letter. They weren't after him, they made that much clear. They were after Roman, claiming that they’d heard that he'd been released from prison and they wanted to know where he was. Once they realised they'd made a mistake, they apologised (which utterly confused Seth, because burglars are not supposed to apologise) and let him be. They'd never bothered him since, but it did push him along into getting back into dating, because he was sick and tired of sleeping alone at night.

 

He'd felt super guilty on his first couple of nights out, because he still felt like Roman should be right by his side, glaring at any guy that even though to chat Seth up (and sometimes he still feels like that now) but then he reminded himself that Roman wasn't going to come back. Not any time soon anyway. He needed to move on; he couldn't wait around, not matter how much he'd wanted to. His father told him that it would be best to get on with his life, because if he didn't life was going to get on without him. And even though Seth loved Roman more than he'd ever loved anyone in his entire life, he knew that there was a big chance that Roman could serve his full sentence, and he couldn't wait ten years for him.

 

Seth sighs loudly at the backlash of thoughts that have attacked him and finishes what's left of his cold coffee. He heads to the shower, trying not to think about where the dream would have led him last night had he not woken up and rids himself of his clothes.

 

 They'd shower together most mornings; Roman would call it saving the planet by cutting down on their water usage. Seth would never tell him that Roman spent so much time kissing him under the spray that they weren't saving all that much water.

 

He had a lot to get used to once Roman went away. There was so much that they did together that Seth had to get used to doing alone. All of their traditions went down the drain and Seth and Archie had to make new ones, especially after Dean left too. It was only when Seth met Randy that things began to change.

 

Randy was charming and sweet and didn't seem to mind that Seth was still reeling from an old relationship (though he didn't divulge in the details of how it ended) and slowly, Seth managed to rebuild his shattered heart and started to move on. Now he's starting to wonder whether 'moving on’ was the right thing to do, seeing as he is seemingly not moved on from his ex.

 

But it's not like he can anything now. Not when he's been dating Randy for just as long as he'd been dating Roman. He can't just tell the man that now his ex is back he wants to give them another go. He's not even sure that Roman wants him back. Seth stands under the spray for a long time before he wills himself to get out and actually do something productive on his day off.

 

Seth takes Willow out for a walk and visits his father on his way home. The visit consists of him chewing him out on not telling him that Roman now works alongside him at the bar, Seth doesn’t get an answer when he asks how his father found out, but he has some hunches. There are only five people, who know that his father would care about them working together, and he can count Roman, Dean and Archie out of them, only Randy and his sister Ivory would have motive to tell him.

 

He leaves his father’s house with a promise that his relationship with Roman is strictly professional and heads back to his apartment. He calls Randy as soon as he gets back, not caring that the man is probably in the office dealing with clients.

 

“Hey babe, you okay?” His boyfriend answers, there’s concern laced in his tone and it makes Seth curious. Randy hardly ever calls him babe in front of his work colleagues, and work is exactly where the man should be right now.

 

“Yeah everything is fine; I just wanted to ask a quick question is all.”

 

“Alright, what’s up?”

 

“You didn’t tell my dad about Roman working with me at the bar, did you?” Seth asks tentatively, scouting through his wardrobe to find a clean black polo shirt for the bar. Randy hesitates before clearing his throat.

 

“Of course not, why would I do that?” Randy says, sounding a little offended, but Seth doesn’t have it in him to feel bad because the hesitation said it all.

 

“It’s just that my dad found out, and the only people who could have told were either you or Ivory and I just needed to know it wasn’t you.”

 

“No it wasn’t me babe, promise.” _Liar._ It’s the only word that runs through his head as Randy talks.

 

“Okay, thanks not telling him, by the way.” Seth says, and he hears Randy swallow on the end of the phone.

 

“Anything for you, Seth.” After a short conversation, they hang up and Seth goes straight to get ready for his shift at the bar, not even bothering to call Ivory. There is no need, he didn’t think it was her anyway, but Randy’s hesitancy on the phone confirmed everything. It was Randy, and it made sense that it was Randy, he didn’t want Roman anywhere near him, he could understand that, but Roman is just trying to rebuild his life and no one can take that away from him.

 

 

** xXx **

****

****

Seth walks into the bar an hour before it opens, and is surprised to see Roman already stocking the shelf. He heads into the backroom without saying anything, seeing as Roman is so engrossed in his task and he doesn’t want to shock him. He pulls his hair into a bun before heading back to the bar, he practically squeals when Roman looks up and acknowledges him.

 

“What the hell happened to your face?” he moves to take a closer look at Roman’s beaten face, noticing the self-administered stitches to his left eye and how bloodshot it is. Roman lets him peer closely at his face, not moving away and Seth suddenly realises that he hasn’t been this close to him since before he went to prison. He doesn’t move away.

 

“I’ve still got enemies around here Seth, just a bruise, don’t worry about it.” Roman says voice light. Seth raises an eyebrow at him and frowns.

 

“Who did this?” He asks quietly. Roman’s bruised face falters for a second before he shrugs.

 

“Couple of punks.” He says finally, moving away to continue putting beers into the cooler. Since when has Roman been so secretive?

 

“You’re not going to tell me who it was, are you?”  Seth says quietly, moving to help him.

 

“Nope, it’s not important.”

 

“Of course it is, they hurt you Roman.”

 

Roman turns to him with a faint smile. “You don’t gotta’ worry about me anymore, Seth.” The words make Seth’s heart ache.

 

“Doesn’t mean I don’t.” Seth’s voice is barely audible, but Roman hears him and gives him a warm smile without saying anything. He moves away from Seth, heading to the other side of the bar and keeping himself busy until Paul opens up and the punters start filtering in.

 

Dean saunters in at about half past nine and takes his usual seat at the end of the bar.

 

“Damn Roman, that shiner you got looks worse under the lights of the bar.” Dean comments, his face contorting into a grimace. “How did that fucker even manage to split your eyebrow open anyway?”

 

“Old prison injury.” Seth looks at him in confusion.

 

“Prison injury?”

 

Roman nods, “Yeah. I had more than my fair share of fights inside, plus, being gay really makes people think they can have a pop at you. Freddie and I, we had more than our fair share of trips to the prison doctor.” He explains, clearing glasses from a nearby table. They’re not that busy, giving the three of them chance to talk.

 

“Who’s Freddie?” Seth asks, ignoring the swell of jealousy that seems to have started in his stomach. He has no right and he knows it.

 

“Freddie was my cell mate and my only friend while I was in there. He kept me sane and we looked out for each other, don’t think I’d have made it out alive without him if I’m honest.”

 

Seth swallows harshly, “Was prison really that bad?”

 

Roman scoffs, “Bad? I don’t wish it on anyone. This?” He points to the stitched wound, “The first time this opened up was in the yard, the guy had no motive but he decided to take a shot, used brass knuckles someone had smuggled it in. Ended up with my face busted open and a broken rib. Spent a few days in the infirmary before I was allowed back in gen pop.”

 

Seth suddenly feels sick, but he can’t stop the words from leaving his mouth. “Did you get them back?”

 

Roman grins, “Freddie did. After that, we decided to fight our battles together. His enemies became mine and mine became his, we kept each other safe.”

 

“That sounds, horrible.” Seth swallows, feeling incredibly sick at the thought of people willingly trying to hurt Roman for no reason at all. The thought of Roman just sitting in hell with no one ever going to see him makes him feel extremely guilty.

 

“Yeah it was, but I stayed out of trouble enough to get parole, so I can’t really complain all that much.”

 

Seth already feels sick, but he feels even sicker when he sees Randy stroll through the entrance and make a beeline for the bar. Roman and Randy have only ever been in each other’s presence once, and it was only for a few moments.

 

Luckily, he’s not alone. Nikki, one of his work colleagues is with him and they make their way over to them.

 

“Hey babe,” Randy says, leaning against the bar as Nikki takes a seat near Dean.

 

“Uh hey Randy, what’re you doing here?” Seth tries to keep his tone light, but it’s hard when he’s as nervous as he is.

 

“Nikki was coming down so I gave her a lift, thought I’d come and see you while I was here.” Randy flashes him a smile, but he knows it’s not directed at him, his eyes are looking at Roman. But Roman’s not even looking at him, instead, he’s fixing Nikki her drink.

 

“So Nikki, I heard you got with that douche bag.” Nikki throws her head back and laughs, she goes to speak, but Randy interrupts.

 

“You guys know each other?” Seth is just as shocked as Randy, he didn’t know that Roman and Nikki knew each other, but then again, he’d heard that Nikki was involved in dealing too, and Roman always kept his dealing and personal life with Seth separate.

 

“Yeah, Roman and I go way back.” Nikki says, taking a sip of her whiskey before turning to Roman. “And yes, I did get with John. I had no reason to say no when you left.” Roman shoots her a look.

 

“There’s always a reason to say no when it involves John Cena.”

 

“Speaking of, what happened to your face?” Randy suddenly asks, he fiends concern, but Seth can see the faint hint of a smirk on his face.

 

“Quite obvious isn’t it?” Roman says, getting Dean another beer.

 

“Wait, did John do that to you?” Seth suddenly asks, because Randy brought it up after they’d started talking about him, making it sound like Randy knew about the attack.

 

Roman lets out a laugh, “God no, Cena’s not that stupid.”

 

Randy bristles, face pinching in anger. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

Roman smirks, fixing Nikki another drink, this time vodka and coke. Nikki thanks Roman, and it occurs to Seth that there’s so much he doesn’t know about both his ex and his current boyfriend.

 

“John Cena can’t touch he me, he hasn’t got the balls and besides, there isn’t any member of Cena’s crew stupid enough to do it for him. Any of them do, well; they’re just putting themselves in line for a whole lot of trouble.” Seth watches as Randy’s face suddenly falls before he’s masking it again.

 

“Then who was stupid enough?” The wavering in his voice and the suddenly apprehensive look on his tells Seth that Randy knows more than he’s letting on.

 

“Oh you know, probably just some new comer who has no clue what he’s doing and who he’s messing with.” Roman says, he’s smiling at Randy, but it’s one of those smiles that make you scared and uncomfortable, Seth’s seen many people falter under it. Roman suddenly shrugs, “But they’ll get what’s coming to them, don’t you worry.”

 

Randy swallows, “Great.” He retreats into himself when Roman squeezes Seth’s shoulder to let him know he’s headed to the basement to get some more beer. Dean converses with Nikki (they bond over a shared love of wrestling) and Randy sits frantically typing on his phone.

 

Seth thinks nothing of it, because Randy is always on his damn phone, it’s only when he sets it down on the bar and Seth sees the name of the person he’s texting flash up on his phone. All the little pieces click together, the whole previous conversation they’d had suddenly makes sense. Seth feels sick, even more so than before, and every time he looks at Randy frantically checking his phone and Roman glaring at his boyfriend every chance he gets he feels guilty.

 

When Nikki announces that she’s leaving to meet John, Randy offers her a lift to his house and she gratefully accepts. Randy makes a quick exit, only quickly kissing Seth on the cheek before heading out of the bar with Nikki trailing behind him.

 

For the rest of his shift, Seth can’t stop looking at the bruising all over Roman’s face. It makes his chest hurt more than it has in a long time and he suddenly has the desperate urge to wrap his arms around Roman and hold him. But he doesn’t have the right to do that now, so instead he pushes through the shift with the uncomfortable feeling lingering over him until Paul ushers the few remaining punters out of the bar.

 

He and Roman clean up in silence, getting the job done quickly and efficiently. Seth’s the first one to talk when they’re collecting they’re stuff from the back room.

 

“Roman, can I ask you something?” Roman turns to him as he shrugs on his leather jacket. His face softens as he fixes the collar.

 

“Of course Seth.”

 

Seth swallows, “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” Roman scrunches his face up in confusion.

 

“Where’s this coming from?”

 

“Answer the question, Roman.”

 

Roman sighs, “No Seth, I wouldn’t. Never have, never will.”

 

“So if I ask you a question that I might not like the answer to, you’ll tell me the truth?” Roman nods, letting out a long breath.

 

“Then answer me this,” Seth swallows, he can’t even believe these words are about to fall from his lips. “Was it Randy who did that to you?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: sorry for the long wait, I had a bit of trouble writing it and I think I re-writ this about a million times but I needed to get it up finally because I'm going on vacation on Monday, so there won't be any updates until the following week. I'm gonna' try and get some writing done, though, so maybe there will be a few updates the following week! Hope you enjoy, review and tell me what you think! Also, I made a playlist for this and it is here (http://8tracks.com/kawx/gravity) go have a listen!

Seth watches as a wave of emotions washes over Roman’s face before he’s turning away from Seth without saying a word. That is answer enough, but Seth wants to hear Roman say it, no matter how much the words are going to break his heart.

 

“Roman, answer me.” Seth whispers, though his voice is loud and unwelcomed in the room. Roman’s shoulders sag, he sighs loudly and Seth feels his heart sink in his chest.

 

“What do you want me to say Seth?” Seth swallows, not quite sure what he does want Roman to say. He wants the truth, but does he really want to know that Randy purposely did this to him? Purposely going behind Seth’s back and lying to him?

 

“I want the truth, Roman.”

 

“You want me to tell you something that could possibly ruin your relationship? That might turn everything upside that you’ve tried hard to put right since I’ve been away? I can’t do that to you Seth.” _You haven’t._ Seth thinks, that was Randy.

 

“Randy’s already done that. I know it was him, stop covering for him.” Seth raises his voice, there’s a lump in his throat and tears sting his eyes. Roman looks at him, taking in his face before he sighs, taking a step back and perching on a box beside him.

 

“I’m not covering for him, Seth. I just don’t want to be the man that came back and ruined your life. I did a pretty good job of that when I left. He’s just trying to protect you Seth, he’s going about it the wrong way I’ll admit that, but the intention is there. I came back for you Seth, but I came back thinking there would be a chance for us to be together again. But now there isn’t a chance, and I don’t want to cause trouble. I’m just trying to rebuild my life, that’s why I’m not making a big deal out of this, let Randy get it out of his system, and then if he doesn’t stop, I’ll do something about it.” Why is Roman so cool about this? What happened to the Roman that appeared at the bar earlier this month, smirking and telling him he was back, the Roman who made kissing jokes in college? Now he’s standing back and not wanting to get involved?

 

“He’s working with John.” Seth says, searching Roman’s face for any kind of reaction. He gets one, in the way of annoyance spreading across his face.

 

“I know, figured as much when he tried to put the blame onto him.”

 

“I don’t want to go through that again.” Seth whispers, eyes falling to the ground as vivid images of the night he got a phone call from Roman saying he’d been arrested force their way into his head.

 

“Nikki will keep an eye on him. He’s bound to know all about me now, John won’t have spared any details he won’t make the same mistakes I did, Seth.” Seth looks up at Roman with the smallest of smiles.

 

“He’s not as smart as you, though.”

 

Roman laughs, “Yeah because I’m so smart, I dealt to an undercover cop.” Roman hops off the box he’s sat on and takes a few steps towards Seth so that he’s close enough to touch him. “Me and Dean are always gonna’ be here if you need anything, you know that. You’ve only got to call and we’ll come running. Do you want me to walk you home?” That is Roman’s way of saying that this conversation is over and Seth gives in, nodding as he collects the rest of his stuff.

 

The short walk to Seth’s apartment is spent with them talking absentmindedly about old memories and when Roman bids Seth a goodnight, Seth sort of wishes it would be like it used to be, with Roman coming in with him and holding him all night long. Seth pushes the thoughts out of his head as he goes straight through to his bedroom and flings himself onto the bed. The night has been one big weird, eventful, cluster fuck of home truths and Seth doesn’t want to deal with any of them.

 

He knows he has too, though, and even though it’s early hours of the morning, he texts Randy asking him to come round in the morning. He doesn’t say anything else just sets his phone on the bedside table and strips himself of his clothes, settling himself under the covers. He tries not to think about Randy punching Roman in the face and he definitely doesn’t think about what it would be like to have Roman slipping into bed behind him and wrapping his arms around him like he used to.

 

 

**xXx**

When Roman gets back to Dean’s apartment, Dean is still up and not too shockingly, Archie is laying against him, fast asleep. Dean’s head turns when he hears the door close softly and he smiles at Roman.

 

“Hey big guy, was wondering if you were gonna’ come home at all.” Dean says quietly, easing away from Archie and gently setting her head against the arm of the couch.

 

“Had a talk with Seth and then walked him home.” Roman says, heading to the fridge and pulling out an apple. Dean never has apples, so he guesses that Archie took him grocery shopping or something.

 

“What’d you talk about?”

 

“He asked me whether Randy was the one who did this.” Roman points to his bust up face, leaning back against the counter. He’d really wanted to tell Seth straight that yes it was Randy, and that he didn’t want someone like that around Seth. But who was he to talk? He’d done some pretty messed up things too, many of them to keep Seth safe, and like he’d told Seth, he couldn’t start messing with Seth’s relationships. If he wanted Seth back, he was going to have to wait for Seth to come to him.

 

“And what did you say?”

 

“Well I didn’t say yes but I made it pretty clear that it was him.” Roman says, biting a chunk out of the apple and savouring the taste, it’s the first thing he’s eaten in hours.

 

“How did he take it?”

 

“I don’t know, I didn’t really give him chance to tell me, I didn’t wanna’ have that conversation with him.” Dean nods in understanding and stands next to him, folding his arms across his chest. Roman watches as Dean’s eyes find Archie on the couch and stay there, a soft smile tugging at his face. At least they’d partially got their little family back.

 

“When are you two going to bite the bullet and become a thing?”

 

“What? Ro, you know how I feel about that.” Dean huffs.

 

“Yeah and I know how you feel about her. Damn it Dean, she’s the only girl you’ve ever loved, the only girl you’ve ever let sleep in your bed without touching her. You can’t keep running away from her just because you’re scared you’ll hurt her.”

 

“I’m no good for her, Ro.”

 

“And I’m no good for Seth, but God I love him more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my whole life. If, if he doesn’t want me because I’m no good for him then at least I’ve given him a choice, right now you’re pushing her away and not giving her a chance to decide. And it seems she’s already decided, she hasn’t given you any heat for just running off and not calling. Give her a chance to tell you whether she wants this or not, let her decide.” Roman gently places a hand on Dean’s shoulder.

 

“Take her to bed, it’s late and her back does not need to be messed up by that coach.” Dean says nothing as he goes back over to Archie and slips his arms underneath her, picking her up easily and heading towards the bedroom. Roman holds the door open for him and he can’t help but smile at how Archie nestles herself into Dean’s chest as he carries her into the bedroom. He lets them be, closing the door behind Dean and taking himself to the couch. The box of photos Roman had been looking at earlier in the week was sat on the coffee table and he can’t help but pick it up and go through the photos again.

 

The majority of them are polaroids, seeing as Archie had been given one for her birthday and she insisted on taking a million photos with it. They were not particularly of special or memorable moments, most of them are horribly developed close ups of them eating sushi or Seth pulling the weirdest (and most adorable) faces at Dean who just looks at him in amusement.

 

They take him back to a time when his life was great, and if he were able to jump into the photo to get those moments back, he’d tell himself to stop the dealing, because future him wouldn’t regret anymore more than he regretted dealing to that undercover cop.

 

Roman picks up a particular photo, one that had been taken very early on in his and Seth’s relationship. In it, they’re on the college grounds sitting on a bench under a tree. Roman has a big streak of bird dropping on his shoulder and Seth is falling apart with laughter beside him. He remembers that moment, remembers feeling so embarrassed that this could only happen to him, only to have the feeling washed away when Seth started cleaning his shirt with tissues and kissed him with tears of laughter still in his eyes.

 

Roman places the photos back in the box and places them on the coffee table. It’s hard to think back at how his life was five years ago without a heavy feeling settling over his chest. Back then, he had a boyfriend whom he loved more than anything, two friends who he adored the fuck out of, he was doing all right in college, he had a nice apartment and he had his family too. But now, he’s only got his friends, a part time job and a shitty half degree class at college. He’s working up and he knows that, but his criminal record will prevent him from going much further than where he is at now.

 

He shifts on the couch, trying to get comfortable before closing his eyes. Maybe if he wishes hard enough, he’ll go back to the night he dealt to undercover cop and step out of the ally way before the guy turns up, and go back home to Seth like he should have done.

 

 

**xXx**

Randy lets himself into Seth’s apartment at around half past ten, and Seth is just up and making himself a coffee. Despite being extremely worn out when he got back in the early hours of the morning, he hadn’t slept much. He’d been thinking about everything, about what he was going to say to Randy and how he was going to deal with his boyfriends obvious lying and his bubbling emotions over his ex. Seth had already promised himself to call Archie later seeing as he had a lot to get off his chest. He hasn’t spoken to her in a good 24 hours and she’s probably got a lot to tell him, too.

 

“Morning, babe.” Randy says, arms wrapping around him as he makes them both a coffee. Seth fights the urge to elbow him in the stomach and scream at him. His touch suddenly makes his skin crawl and he moves to get the milk.

 

“Are you alright?” Randy asks when Seth doesn’t say anything to him. There’s a worried look on his face and maybe before Seth would have jumped right in and told him not to worry about him, he was fine and there was nothing wrong. But now, now he knows that Randy has been lying to him, lying to him about telling his father about Roman and going behind his back and attacking Roman and being involved with John. It all just made him mad, and he had no desire to take it easy on Randy.

 

“Do you remember the other day when I called you and asked you whether you’d told my dad about Roman working at the bar?”

 

Randy nods, “Yeah?”

 

Seth pours the milk into the cups and puts it back into the fridge. “Why did you lie?”

 

Randy’s face scrunches in confusion, “Seth what are you talking about? I didn’t—“

 

“Randy, the only other person who could have told him was Ivory; she’s out of town and has _no reason_ to tell him. It was you so cut the crap.”

 

Randy sighs in defeat and takes his coffee from the side and gives it a small sip. “Okay, so I told him. Can you blame me?” Yes. Yes he can blame him for going behind his back when Seth specifically told him not to tell him.

 

“Maybe I could understand why you did it in time, but I can’t understand why you attacked him.” Randy’s eyes widen the moment the words leave Seth’s mouth and he’s suddenly stuttering and stumbling over his words.

 

“Now Seth that wasn’t me, that was Joh—“

 

“John? Bullshit, Randy. It was you and I know it. Roman wouldn’t tell me to start with, but you basically told everyone yourself last night at the bar. What are you trying to prove?”

 

“He’s getting too close to you Seth; he needs to learn his place.” Randy says, almost growling.

 

“Roman hasn’t come near me, Randy. He works with me that is it. The man is trying to put his life together and you’re beating the shit out of him? What are you even doing getting involved with John Cena anyway?”

 

“He’s just a friend, Seth.”

 

“Yeah a friend who just happens to have problems with Roman what a coincidence right? For God’s sake Randy, do you even know what you’re getting yourself into with him?” The anger inside of Seth is bubbling now, threatening to spill over.

 

“I’m not getting into anything with him, Seth; I took some anger out on your ex, big fucking deal.”

 

Seth’s hand twitches as he wants to throw his coffee at Randy but he stops himself. “You’re doing their dirty work, Randy. You’re just a guy that sits behind a desk crunching numbers; you have no business in their world.”

 

“Oh and you know how they work of course, having lived with a drug dealer?”

 

Seth’s spine tingles and anger licks at every vertebrae. “Roman is a good man.” Seth grits out, hurt tumbling through him at the disgusted look on Randy’s face.

 

“A good man that spent five years looking at the insides of a prison walls instead of being with you, tell me, weren’t you even a little curious what he was doing with the dirty money?”

 

“He was supporting us on most of it; the rest was none of my business. And none of yours either, so don’t you dare go bad mouthing him when you know _nothing_ about him or what he’s done.” Randy looks at Seth for a good moment, eyes hard and unforgiving.

 

“Sounds like you’ve still got it bad for a man whose going nowhere in life.” Seth snaps before Randy even finishes the sentence.

 

“Get out!” Randy looks at him dumbfounded before Seth shouts again, hand flying out to point to the door. “Get out Randy!”

 

“Fine Seth, I’ll go. Just call me when you realise that Roman Reigns is going nowhere and nowhere fast.” Seth manages to keep together just enough for the door to close behind Randy before he’s hurling his coffee at the door, the mug smashing on impact and sending porcelain flying around the room. He sinks to his knees, letting out a loud cry as his heart begins to break.  


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: sooo yup, back from vacation and back with an update!!! i'm not exactly happy with this chapter but i've been tweeking it for a couple of days now and this is the best i'm going to get it, i think. so yeah, heres to hoping that i regain my mojo for next chapter. still, tell me what you think in a comment!! as always, my ask is always open at my tumblr: psychrollins.

****

Slamming the door behind him, Randy leaves Vince’s bar with a scowl on his face. There was anger thrumming through his veins, mixed with a shot of guilt. After finishing talking to John and Hunter, he realised going off at Seth yesterday morning was the wrong thing to do. He shouldn’t have said that Seth still had it bad for the guy, because even though he knew it was true, Seth had definitely been in dial and bringing it up has wedged distance between them that they really could have done without now that Roman was back.

 

But he’d been so angry, everything that Roman had said the previous night, insinuating that John had set him up to do the dirty work so that he didn’t have to take the fall. He’d believed it, briefly, but after speaking to John and Hunter and becoming more clear on the story behind their old business relationship, he realised he was just being extremely paranoid. John told him that mouthing off like that was a speciality of Roman’s and gave his shoulder a squeeze, telling him not to worry and that they had his back.

 

Of course they do, why should he believe some motherfucker like Roman Reigns over his friends? And that’s all they were to him. He wasn’t sure what Seth thought he was doing with John, but he wasn’t getting involved in all the shit that they pulled, just, using them to his advantage to make sure that Roman Reigns stays out of their lives.

 

However, in order to keep Seth in his life – who hasn’t called like he thought he would – he needs to apologise to him. Not that he feels he needs to, because Seth’s the one who’s taking the side of his ex rather than him but still, he doesn’t want to push Seth away.

 

Randy hits the gas when the light changes to green, he’s got it all figured, what he’s going to say to Seth to get him to forgive him. He’s done it before, Seth loves all that _I’m just so in love with you it makes me do crazy things_ so that should do the trick, then he can focus on getting Reigns well and truly out of the picture.

 

The drive to Paul’s bar is short, and he makes it there just before it’s scheduled to open, which isn’t a problem seeing as Paul has always let him in before. If he’s being honest with himself, Randy can’t remember when keeping Seth in his life became so important. Because he didn’t actually intend on ever having anything serious with him, sure he was hot and great in bed, but that was all it was ever meant to be. He played the whole _I’ll wait for you as long as it takes_ role perfectly until he’d got Seth right where he wanted him. But then somewhere along the line, 3 years to be precise, things changed and Seth became so much more to him. And now here he is, forced to take drastic action in order to keep someone who he didn’t even want in the first place. How things change.

 

The door to the bar is unlocked and he steps inside, not quite recognizing the place when it isn’t full of people. Paul’s actually at the bar, but Seth isn’t in view.

 

“Evening Randy, what can I do for you?”

 

“Hey Paul, Seth around?” He knows Seth has a shift tonight, so he should be here already unless he’s late or decided not to turn up. Paul eyes him warily before thumbing in the direction of the back.

 

“Should be back there, disappeared a few minutes ago.” Randy nods his head in appreciation and heads for the backroom.  He’s been there a couple of times before so it doesn’t take him long to find it.

 

“Seth, babe?” He calls out as he descends the stairs into the backroom where - _oh._   That’s not Seth, it’s Roman, stacking old boxes that once held beer bottles. He has a face like thunder and regret instantly floods through Randy. Roman’s face still bears the wounds he himself inflicted on, the black eye and cut up eyebrow however, does not make the man look worse for wear like he wishes they did. Instead, they make him look like he’s ready to tear someone apart with a seconds notice, or maybe that’s how the guy likes all the time, but right now Randy really wishes that he’d never stepped foot into this room.

 

Roman sneers, placing a box down heavily so that it made a loud _thwack_ onto the below it, making Randy jump slightly. “Seth’s outside talking to Archie on the phone, about you, I think. She’s out for your head.” He guessed that she would be. As much as he loves Seth, he only tolerates his best friend, they’d never really liked each other since the first day Seth introduced them. Archie is much too loud and opinionated for his liking, voicing her problems with him whenever she deems him to have messed up with Seth, which he obviously has this time.

 

“She doesn’t scare me.” Which is a stupid thing to say really, and he knows it is the moment Roman snorts, once again slamming a box down.

 

“Then you’re an idiot, because she scares me.”  Roman says, smirking. Of course she does, because Archie does scare everyone once she gets herself into one of her moods.

 

“You don’t scare me either.” Another stupid thing, what the hell did he say that for?

 

“Nice,” Roman says, slamming the final box down, “Are you saying that more to yourself or did Cena tell you to say that?” Randy bristles, Roman doesn’t quit with his fucking John Cena shit.

 

“John Cena told me to say jack shit.” Randy growls, his shoulders hunching in annoyance. He should have seen it really, the bubbling anger he’d triggered inside of Roman the moment he stepped down the stairs. Roman’s hand is wrapped around his throat in seconds, pushing him up against the wall and physically lifting him off his feet. Roman’s hand doesn’t constrict his breathing too much, he’s not choking, but his heavy hand allows his laboured breathes to ring loud in the room, his fright evident.

 

“Listen to me and listen very carefully, because I’ve been calm about this for far too long now and I’m only going to say it once. You have my _whole world_ in your hands and I mean my _whole world,_ so if you think I’m just going to let you get away with hurting him my son you are sorely mistaken. That kid cried fucking buckets because you betrayed his trust and let me tell you that a piece of me dies when tears fall from his eyes so you better start bucking up and treating him like he deserves. Get your ass away from John Cena, Seth doesn’t need that sort of stuff back in his life, if John’s got a score to settle with me tell him to come to me directly.” The hand around his throat tightens and he swears that Roman’s eyes could cut him down right now.

 

“Secondly, I don’t wanna’ hear anymore about you upsetting Seth because if it happens again, I damn well swear to God that I will tear you limb from limb. If I as so much smell sadness on Seth and it’s because of you, I will not hesitate to give you a taste of your own medicine, you got that?” Randy manages to nod, feeling the pressure build in his head before he’s suddenly released, his body dropping to the ground in a heap of limbs and gasping lungs.

 

“Don’t fuck with me Orton, don’t even try it.” Roman’s heavy footsteps head up the stairs the moment Seth walks in from outside. His eyes widen when Randy pulls himself from the ground.

 

“What the hell?”

 

“I came to apologise,” Randy says a little breathlessly, he doesn’t mention that Roman just strangled him, instead he acts as normal and tries to smile, though he’s painfully aware that there’s a red mark around his neck and his face is just as red.

 

“Apologise...”

 

“Yeah, I said some pretty shitty things the other day and I just, Seth I hate arguing with you because I love you and I guess I just got so, jealous and over protective because of Roman being back and I took things too far. I’m sorry.” Seth’s face is hard for a moment before it dissolves into hurt, his big brown eyes making Randy feel like shit.

 

“You obviously don’t trust me Randy.”

 

Randy sighs, stepping closer to Seth and being thankful that he doesn’t step away.

 

“I trust _you,_ just not Roman.” He places his hands on Seth’s cheeks, rubbing the soft skin with the pads of his thumbs. “Listen, I love you, okay? And I don’t ever want to hurt you.” Randy kisses Seth’s forehead, a wave of success running through him when Seth wraps his arms his waist.

 

“I have to get to work now, you’re still not completely off the hook, though.” Seth says into his chest and Randy places another kiss to Seth’s forehead. He follows Seth up the stairs and back to the main area of the bar with a grin on his face.

 

 

**xXx**

Roman bristles the moment Seth appears from the back with Randy in tow, who has a shit eating grin on his face. If it isn’t obvious from the look on his face that he managed to win Seth over, then it’s obvious when Randy pulls Seth in for a kiss. Disgust engulfs him, setting his fire alight so that he has to look away to stop himself from saying something. Roman busies himself with wiping down the bar and stacking glasses above the shelf, only turning around when he feels Seth’s presence beside him.

 

When he turns around, Seth is standing next to him looking at him with those big fucking puppy dog eyes.

 

“What are you lookin’ at me like that for, Seth?”

 

“Did you have anything to do with the red mark on Randy’s neck?” Roman grinned slightly, resuming the cleaning of a whiskey glass before putting it up on the shelf.

 

“Maybe.”

 

“Roman.”

 

“I didn’t hurt him, just warned him is all.”

 

“What did you say to him?”

 

“That I would tear him limb from limb if he made you cry like that again.”

 

Seth sighs, “Roman.”

 

Roman slings the towel over his shoulder and shrugs. “Dude had it coming to him, plus, he needed to be set straight, you’ve forgiven him so he needs to know what’ll happen to him if he steps out of line again. Doing my duty as a friend.” He’s not sure how he manages to say the word friend without sounding like a kicked puppy. After Archie had called him and Dean yesterday, telling him that she’d gone around to Seth’s to find him a blubbering mess on the floor, surrounded by broken porcelain; the two of them had instantly stopped what they were doing to go round there.

 

He’d gotten Seth to calm down and tell him what had happened, and it had taken him most of his strength not to go looking for the shithead named Randy Orton but he stayed, opting to put cheering Seth up at the top of his list.

 

Archie had not been happy about the whole situation; she’d been muttering expletives the whole time she was cleaning up the broken mug and those expletives only ending when Dean promised her she could take a pop at the man when she saw him next.

 

“He said he was sorry, I couldn’t just break up with him over some petty argument.” Seth says quietly, looking down at his fingers.

 

“Seth, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. He’s your boyfriend and what happens between you two is your shit and it’s your prerogative whether you take him back. But, I stand true on what I say, anymore tears fall from you over him, he’s dead.” He squeezes Seth’s shoulder as he passes him, heading to give the tables a last wipe down before the customers started tumbling in.

 

God, this whole _‘I’m gonna’ be supportive of your relationship with an asshole even though I’m still incredibly head over heels in love with you’_ thing wasn’t as easy as Roman thought it was going to be.  He decided that showing Seth that he wasn’t all gung ho on doing anything to get him back wasn’t the best way, and decided showing him that he could be a mature man about something that literally broke him into pieces was a better way, showed Seth he still cared about him. It was harder than he’d anticipated, though.

 

Especially when Seth made those big puppy dog eyes around him and when Randy _kissed_ Seth in front of him well _that_ made him want to kill the motherfucker. But he had to stay calm, slog this one out. He wasn’t going anywhere, this place was his home (anywhere where Seth was, was home.) and he wasn’t going to leave just because he hadn’t managed to get Seth back yet. These things took time and for Seth he would wait until the end of time.

 

 

**xXx**

It was amazing really, the self control Roman had learnt in prison. The Roman Seth knew was a guy who was cocky and almost shameless even, now here he was, giving him support in taking someone other than him back. No remarks about their past relationship, or anything like Roman used to be. The Roman that liked everyone to know that Seth was his boyfriend and was just the right side of possessive, this Roman was different and he was struggling on whether he liked it or not.

 

He liked not having the stress of Roman hovering around him all the time, trying to get him back – which is what Seth thought was going to happen after the day Roman turned up at college for the first time, but had since backed off – but he did not like the fact that he felt Roman was giving up on him. Maybe it wasn’t self control that Roman had learnt. Maybe he didn’t care anymore, Seth had been a dick and not even broken up with the guy properly, that in itself was enough to drive someone away.

 

Seth sighs dejectedly, pouring a whiskey for a regular. The man smiles at him, sliding the money across the bar before heading back to his table. The night was slow and boring, he and Roman hadn’t said much to each other all night, only beginning to talk when Dean walked in.

 

“Yo Rollins’, get your ass over here!” Seth turns to see Dean crooking his finger at him and Seth swallows as he makes his way over to his friend whose sat at the end of the bar. This can’t be good, Dean looks like he swallowed some bad food.

 

“What’s this I’m hearing about you taking back that tattooed dish rag?” Seth creases his brow, dish rag? Dean always did have a wild imagination when it came to insults.

 

“We hadn’t broken up in the first place, Dean, we just had an argument.”

 

Dean scoffs, “An argument that had you throwing cups at the door. Look, it ain’t my business I know that, but you deserve better than that piece of slime.”

 

“You don’t know him like I do, Dean.” Seth says quietly, Dean pays him no mind though, to caught up in watching Archie push her way through the crowd towards them. Dean does turn to him right before Archie gets to them and points towards his best friend, whose serving a bunch of rowdy girls a round of tequila.

 

“You deserve better.” 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So here is a short update, because although I originally planned it to be longer, what is happening next just doesn't fit in with the chapter so I broke them up into two separate chapters. so yeah, a filler of sorts. still not quite in my mojo so i'm sorry, but seth has some thinking to do when he's handed the truth pill. review and tell me what you think! (on a review note, i've had a few negative comments turning up in my tumblr inbox that i decided not to respond too. if you dislike my story, that's fine. but please, just don't read it. i don't mind. but don't trash it anonymously in my inbox, thank you.) as always, for the nice messages i get, my tumblr is psychrollins and i'm always there for a chat!

Archie isn’t happy at Seth making up with Randy, to say the least. When Dean obnoxiously opens his mouth and tells her, the look she gives him is enough to kill a man.

 

“Are you kidding me right now? You’re letting that son of a bitch off the hook for what? Did he give you some bomb ass head or something? You were literally telling me you hated him a few hours ago!” Archie voice is loud and angry, and Dean is gripping her shoulders and preventing her from throwing herself over the bar to smack him. Seth opens his mouth, ready to defend himself but Archie is shaking her head at him furiously before shouting,

 

“Roman!” Roman hurries over to her immediately, a slightly scared expression on his face and Seth can relate to that really, because when Archie is mad she gets _mad_ and you don’t ever want to make her madder than she already is.

 

“Will you be okay minding the bar on your own for a few minutes? Seth and I need to _talk.”_ Archie grits out the words as she’s glaring at him and Seth can’t help but swallow and stare at the floor, he’s not often on the end of Archie’s anger so more often than not he’s amused at how riled up she can get about things, but this is not as amusing as it normally is.

 

“Sure Arch,” Roman is saying and Seth feels seriously betrayed right now, he gives Roman a silent _please save me from her wrath_ pleading look, but his friend just shrugs, stepping away from them to serve another customer. Archie doesn’t miss a second, leaning over the bar and grabbing a fistful of his shirt and practically dragging him towards the back, despite there being a bar between him.

 

His best friend rather gracelessly shoves him into supply room, slamming the door shut behind her and folding her arms across her chest.

 

“Well?”

 

Seth pats down his now crinkled shirt, not daring to meet her eyes. “Well what?”

 

“Why did you take Randy back after everything he said the other morning?”

 

Seth sighs, finally looking up. Archie’s face is a mixture of annoyance and hurt and he knows she’s hurt that he told her one thing and then seemingly did the other.

 

“Arch, we hadn’t exactly split up, so I didn’t ‘take him back’, I just decided that I wanted the petty argument to be over.”

 

“Petty argument? Seth you got so upset that you threw a cup at him, you are not a violent person Seth, so don’t come to me with this bullshit that it was something minor. Because it wasn’t.”

 

Seth sighs, “I know you don’t like him Archie, but this is my relationship and if I want to forgive him then I will.”

 

Archie throws her hands up in exasperation, “But you don’t _want_ to forgive him, I know you don’t. You took Randy back for one reason and one reason only and it sure as hell weren’t love.”

 

“Oh yeah, why did I take him back then Mrs. Knowitall?” Seth grits out angrily, he and Archie have never exchanged such heated words before and he’s trying to remain calm but Archie’s words are eating away at him.

 

“Because you’re trying to cover up your feelings for Roman.” Her voice is softer this time, her big green eyes staring straight into his soul. “Ever since he’s been working here you’ve slowly been letting him back into your heart and it’s been eating away at you. You keep telling yourself that you can’t go back there because of everything that’s happened and to stop yourself you’re letting Randy treat you like shit so that you stop yourself from falling back into Roman’s arms.” Seth’s mouth hangs open and a small smirk finds its way onto Archie’s face.

 

“I know I’m right, Seth, because for the past month I’ve watched you go from not even talking to the guy to telling me that you’re comfortable around him again, and all those dreams you keep having.”

 

Seth keeps his eyes on the floor, cheeks burning. Are his feelings for Roman that obvious, is he still so see through when it comes to his ex boyfriend?

 

“And let me tell you something, those feelings you’ve been having towards him? They’re totally reciprocated.” Archie is smiling softly now, stepping forward to lift Seth’s chin with her fingers.

 

“Really?” Seth can’t keep the curiosity, the longing from his voice and it has Archie smiling and nodding.  

 

“I overheard them the other night, Roman and Dean. Dean basically said he loved me but didn’t think he was good for me and Roman said that he wasn’t good for you but he loved you more than anyone in his whole life.” Archie places her hands on his shoulders and gives them a gentle squeeze, the anger seeming to have fully disappeared from her. Seth thinks it has something to do with the fact that she knows she’s right. Which, she is, really, if Seth thinks about it.

 

“I got Dean back after all these years of hating him and thinking that he’d just left me, and I’m sure as hell not going to let anyone stand in my way of getting him. You know why? Because I love him. And I know in that weirdly working head of his he loves me too, the only thing stopping us is _us._ And it’s the only thing stopping you and Roman. I know you said you didn’t want to get involved with Roman again because of before, but he’s so different now Seth. Stop making yourself unhappy, stop letting yourself be treated like dirt when there’s a guy ready to treat you like a king.” Archie kisses his cheeks and grabs his wrist, pulling him back towards the bar.

 

Seth’s head reels for the rest of his shift, cogs turning in his brain all night long. Everything Archie said to him whizzes around inside of him, thrumming in his ears and pounding away in his heart. Is it that easy? To just, forget about all the stuff in the past, forget about Roman’s prison sentence and move on? Tell him that he still loves him and wants to try again?

 

And what about Randy, just tell him that sorry, I want to get back with my ex. Maybe it is that simple, but what comes after wouldn’t be so simple. With everything that’s already happened between them, he doesn’t think that Randy would take Seth dumping him for Roman would go down very well at all. But even though there are consequences, Seth can’t help but think about it. Can’t help but think about justifications for if he did do it, eyes always finding Roman laughing with a customer or talking with Paul whenever the man appears for a small amount of time.

 

Seth’s still thinking about it when his shift ends, and he’s walking home with his coat wrapped tightly around him. He’s still thinking about it when he’s feeding Willow and when Randy texts him a simple ‘Love you’, and even when he’s getting into the shower. It’s all he _can_ think about. Because he’s been trying not to think about his relationship with Roman since he got out of prison and now Archie has unknowingly pulled the plug on this big barrel of emotions and feelings and he just feels, overwhelmed. Sad, even, that he’s getting so worked up about something that should be so easy and simple.

 

He knows it isn’t though, nothing concerning his feelings for Roman will ever be simple. Not with Randy in the picture, he can’t just go back; it doesn’t work like that, does it? He has other people than himself to think about. Seth gets out of the shower and immediately gets the sleeping pills from the cupboard. He doesn’t use them very often, never really needs to, but he knows that he’ll need them tonight. 


End file.
